Of course, Halloween would be our favourite holiday. And now we'd like to try something new and different to help make everyone's Halloween just a little more special. Each year, we plan to release a special edition book, something odd & out of the way that you won't find from anyone but Valancourt Books!
Note (Halloween 2009): Sadly, there will not be a special this year; however, we are making the first two specials available on Amazon.com for those of you who missed them in 2007 & 2008. Look for a new special edition title next year!
Valancourt Books Halloween Special 2008
A Silent Witness and Other Stories (1888-89)
Richard Marsh
Valancourt Books' Halloween Specials are all about our readers, and since our readers appear to love Richard Marsh, we thought it was only appropriate that he should steal the spotlight of this year's Special.
Most Marsh fans know that he sprang on the scene in 1894 with his first two novels, before publishing the bestseller, The Beetle, in 1897. But few know that his literary career started the decade before, when boys' novelist Bernard Heldmann changed his name to Richard Marsh and, in 1888, began publishing stories in Mary Elizabeth Braddon's important periodical Belgravia.
The three stories collected in this special edition, "A Bed for the Night," "A Silent Witness," and "Payment for a Life," were originally published in Belgravia in 1888 and 1889. One of the stories was collected during Marsh's lifetime in a volume of his stories; the other two have never been reprinted before, and all three are exceedingly rare. Even in these three early stories, Marsh's unique voice is present, as he blends the horrifying and mysterious with the darkly comical. A must-have for collectors of Marsh's rare works or Valancourt's limited editions!
Valancourt Books Halloween Special 2007
James Jenkins the Miser (1822)
Edited by James D. Jenkins
The first ever reprinting of this rare tale, originally published in The Marvellous Magazine, a short-lived Dublin-based periodical. This reprinting marks something of an historical event, as it is likely the first time that a real-life miser has edited a book about a fictional miser bearing the same name.
The story follows James Jenkins, "who cared for nobody, and nobody cared about him". Jenkins lives in a hovel and is believed to be in league with demons. Owing to his loathsome appearance and his perceived supernatural abilities, the local villagers keep a safe distance, with the exception of the horrid witch Mother Folliott, who relentlessly taunts him.
One day the horrible Jenkins loses a coin, which he chases down a pit, where he discovers an ancient tomb, filled with treasure. But his cruelty and lust for gold will lead to a terrible fate (and a wonderful moral lesson for 19th and 21st century readers).
Bearing a similarity to other Gothic tales, such as The Witch of Ravensworth, James Jenkins the Miser is an interesting example of the type of Gothicized fiction that proliferated in magazines, even after the supposed decline of the Gothic novel in the early 1820s. This edition is newly typeset in an 18th century font, complete with long 's' and other fun, archaic typographical features to enhance the modern reading experience.
