‘Valancourt? and who was he?’ cry the young people. Valancourt, my dears, was the hero of one of the most famous romances which ever was published in this country. The beauty and elegance of Valancourt made your young grandmammas’ gentle hearts to beat with respectful sympathy. He and his glory have passed away. Ah, woe is me that the glory of novels should ever decay… Inquire at Mudie’s, or the London Library, who asks for ‘The Mysteries of Udolpho’ now? Have not even ‘The Mysteries of Paris’ ceased to frighten? Alas! our best novels are but for a season…”
—William Makepeace Thackeray
Valancourt Books is an independent small press specializing in the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction. Despite the valiant efforts of a few small presses and the availability of new technology that can make books available to readers all over the world, far too many great books remain out-of-print and inaccessible; we founded Valancourt Books in 2005 to restore many of these works to new generations of readers. Below, you’ll find information about what we publish and who we are.
Gothic, Horror, and Supernatural
One of our specialities is Gothic, horror, and supernatural fiction, a broad category that also includes weird, occult, sinister, macabre, and fantastic works and encompasses both 18th- and 19th-century classics and more modern works.
Gothic Classics
One night in 1764, Horace Walpole had a disturbing dream that prompted him to write the first English Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, a classic that remains in print today. Following the success of Walpole’s book, hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of Gothic novels followed over the next several decades, especially during the 1790s, when Ann Radcliffe published the worldwide bestsellers The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Italian and M. G. Lewis wrote the sensational The Monk.
Our Gothic Classics series restores to print dozens of obscure and neglected Gothic texts from the 1790s to the 1820s, some of them so rare that only one copy is known to exist, often in the British Library or the special collections of a university library. Our Gothic Classics volumes are introduced by leading scholars and experts on Gothic fiction, and many of them include notes and appendices to enhance appreciation of the text. The series includes the “horrid novels” made famous by a mention in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (1818) and many scarce works originally published by the legendary Minerva Press.
Victorian and Edwardian
Our Valancourt Classics series features many great works of horror and the supernatural from the mid-19th century to the early 20th, including ultra-rare Victorian penny dreadfuls by writers like George W. M. Reynolds and James Malcolm Rymer, chilling classics by Sheridan Le Fanu and Bram Stoker, and works by lesser-known practitioners of the genre such as Richard Marsh, Bertram Mitford, and Ernest G. Henham.
20th Century & Modern
We offer many great titles from the golden age of weird and suspense fiction, including works of the strange and fantastic by Claude Houghton, Oliver Onions, and R. C. Ashby, as well as mid-century works by masters of the genre, including Charles Beaumont, John Blackburn, Gerald Kersh and Charles Birkin, and bestsellers from the 1970s and ’80s by Colin Wilson, Basil Copper, Michael McDowell, Michael Talbot, Frank De Felitta, and more.
Our 20th century titles feature introductions by well-known writers and critics, including Ramsey Campbell, Michael Dirda, Kim Newman, Stephen Jones, Michael Moorcock, Mark Valentine, Tom Piccirilli, and many others.
One of our specialities is Gothic, horror, and supernatural fiction, a broad category that also includes weird, occult, sinister, macabre, and fantastic works and encompasses both 18th- and 19th-century classics and more modern works.
Gothic Classics
One night in 1764, Horace Walpole had a disturbing dream that prompted him to write the first English Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, a classic that remains in print today. Following the success of Walpole’s book, hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of Gothic novels followed over the next several decades, especially during the 1790s, when Ann Radcliffe published the worldwide bestsellers The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Italian and M. G. Lewis wrote the sensational The Monk.
Our Gothic Classics series restores to print dozens of obscure and neglected Gothic texts from the 1790s to the 1820s, some of them so rare that only one copy is known to exist, often in the British Library or the special collections of a university library. Our Gothic Classics volumes are introduced by leading scholars and experts on Gothic fiction, and many of them include notes and appendices to enhance appreciation of the text. The series includes the “horrid novels” made famous by a mention in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (1818) and many scarce works originally published by the legendary Minerva Press.
Victorian and Edwardian
Our Valancourt Classics series features many great works of horror and the supernatural from the mid-19th century to the early 20th, including ultra-rare Victorian penny dreadfuls by writers like George W. M. Reynolds and James Malcolm Rymer, chilling classics by Sheridan Le Fanu and Bram Stoker, and works by lesser-known practitioners of the genre such as Richard Marsh, Bertram Mitford, and Ernest G. Henham.
20th Century & Modern
We offer many great titles from the golden age of weird and suspense fiction, including works of the strange and fantastic by Claude Houghton, Oliver Onions, and R. C. Ashby, as well as mid-century works by masters of the genre, including Charles Beaumont, John Blackburn, Gerald Kersh and Charles Birkin, and bestsellers from the 1970s and ’80s by Colin Wilson, Basil Copper, Michael McDowell, Michael Talbot, Frank De Felitta, and more.
Our 20th century titles feature introductions by well-known writers and critics, including Ramsey Campbell, Michael Dirda, Kim Newman, Stephen Jones, Michael Moorcock, Mark Valentine, Tom Piccirilli, and many others.
Gay Interest
We also specialize in titles of gay interest, including works by gay authors or with gay themes. Our 18th and 19th century selections include important titles by authors such as M. G. Lewis, William Beckford, and Frederick Rolfe (Baron Corvo), as well as key anonymous works from the Victorian era, such as Teleny (sometimes attributed to Oscar Wilde) and the notorious The Sins of the Cities of the Plain.
Our 20th century gay interest titles include almost every major work published in the 1950s and 1960s, such as Michael Nelson’s A Room in Chelsea Square, Rodney Garland’s The Heart in Exile, Walter Baxter’s Look Down in Mercy, Kenneth Martin’s Aubade, Gillian Freeman’s The Leather Boys, Martyn Goff’s The Youngest Director, Michael Campbell’s Lord Dismiss Us, and more. We have also reprinted many works by some of the best 20th century gay authors including Forrest Reid, Francis King, C.H.B. Kitchin, Paul Binding, and others.
We also specialize in titles of gay interest, including works by gay authors or with gay themes. Our 18th and 19th century selections include important titles by authors such as M. G. Lewis, William Beckford, and Frederick Rolfe (Baron Corvo), as well as key anonymous works from the Victorian era, such as Teleny (sometimes attributed to Oscar Wilde) and the notorious The Sins of the Cities of the Plain.
Our 20th century gay interest titles include almost every major work published in the 1950s and 1960s, such as Michael Nelson’s A Room in Chelsea Square, Rodney Garland’s The Heart in Exile, Walter Baxter’s Look Down in Mercy, Kenneth Martin’s Aubade, Gillian Freeman’s The Leather Boys, Martyn Goff’s The Youngest Director, Michael Campbell’s Lord Dismiss Us, and more. We have also reprinted many works by some of the best 20th century gay authors including Forrest Reid, Francis King, C.H.B. Kitchin, Paul Binding, and others.
Neglected Authors and Works
Of course, there are many great authors and works that don’t fit into either of the first two categories but are still in need of rediscovery and republication. Our series of 18th- and 19th-century classics features many titles once regarded as important works of English fiction but now badly neglected, such as the late 18th-century bestsellers Chrysal by Charles Johnstone and Zeluco by John Moore, and Victorian authors like Walter Pater, Ouida, Marie Corelli, and Hall Caine.
As we have expanded our focus into more modern fiction, we have also reprinted the works of many of the most distinguished and important 20th century novelists, including the first American editions in decades of works by David Storey, John Braine, John Wain, Keith Waterhouse, Piers Paul Read, and J.B. Priestley.
Of course, there are many great authors and works that don’t fit into either of the first two categories but are still in need of rediscovery and republication. Our series of 18th- and 19th-century classics features many titles once regarded as important works of English fiction but now badly neglected, such as the late 18th-century bestsellers Chrysal by Charles Johnstone and Zeluco by John Moore, and Victorian authors like Walter Pater, Ouida, Marie Corelli, and Hall Caine.
As we have expanded our focus into more modern fiction, we have also reprinted the works of many of the most distinguished and important 20th century novelists, including the first American editions in decades of works by David Storey, John Braine, John Wain, Keith Waterhouse, Piers Paul Read, and J.B. Priestley.
About Valancourt Books
Since 2005, Valancourt Books has been republishing important works in affordable, well-produced editions. Our scholarly editions of 18th and 19th century works have been acclaimed in the Times Literary Supplement and in numerous academic and scholarly journals and many of them have been adopted for use in university courses all over the world.
Since 2005, Valancourt Books has been republishing important works in affordable, well-produced editions. Our scholarly editions of 18th and 19th century works have been acclaimed in the Times Literary Supplement and in numerous academic and scholarly journals and many of them have been adopted for use in university courses all over the world.