Castle Dismal; Or, The Bachelor's Christmas
A gothic tale of ghosts, infidelity, murder, and love, Castle Dismal follows the protagonist Ned Clifton, a "veteran bachelor" who fears the bonds of marriage, in his holiday visit to the home of married friends. Set during the Christmas season in South Carolina, Simms's story illustrates the southern custom of bringing together family around a table to feast; and while Clifton eventually marries Elizabeth Singleton—freeing him from the "melancholy dependencies of bachelorism"—Simms subverts naïve nineteenth-century notions of marriage and domesticity. Marked "by the characteristics of passion & imagination," Simms believed that Castle Dismal constituted one of the "best specimens of [his] powers of creating & combining, to say nothing of a certain intensifying egotism, which marks all [his] writings written in the first person." Edgar Allen Poe considered it "one of the most original fictions ever penned," confirming the genius of Simms; Evert A. Duyckinck, close friend and contemporary critic of Simms, called it "one of the best ghost stories we have ever read." As recent as 1992, John C. Guilds considered the work to be excellent in "establishing atmosphere, tone, and mood."

1114031320
Castle Dismal; Or, The Bachelor's Christmas
A gothic tale of ghosts, infidelity, murder, and love, Castle Dismal follows the protagonist Ned Clifton, a "veteran bachelor" who fears the bonds of marriage, in his holiday visit to the home of married friends. Set during the Christmas season in South Carolina, Simms's story illustrates the southern custom of bringing together family around a table to feast; and while Clifton eventually marries Elizabeth Singleton—freeing him from the "melancholy dependencies of bachelorism"—Simms subverts naïve nineteenth-century notions of marriage and domesticity. Marked "by the characteristics of passion & imagination," Simms believed that Castle Dismal constituted one of the "best specimens of [his] powers of creating & combining, to say nothing of a certain intensifying egotism, which marks all [his] writings written in the first person." Edgar Allen Poe considered it "one of the most original fictions ever penned," confirming the genius of Simms; Evert A. Duyckinck, close friend and contemporary critic of Simms, called it "one of the best ghost stories we have ever read." As recent as 1992, John C. Guilds considered the work to be excellent in "establishing atmosphere, tone, and mood."

29.99 In Stock
Castle Dismal; Or, The Bachelor's Christmas

Castle Dismal; Or, The Bachelor's Christmas

Castle Dismal; Or, The Bachelor's Christmas

Castle Dismal; Or, The Bachelor's Christmas

Paperback(Revised ed.)

$29.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Ships in 1-2 days
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

A gothic tale of ghosts, infidelity, murder, and love, Castle Dismal follows the protagonist Ned Clifton, a "veteran bachelor" who fears the bonds of marriage, in his holiday visit to the home of married friends. Set during the Christmas season in South Carolina, Simms's story illustrates the southern custom of bringing together family around a table to feast; and while Clifton eventually marries Elizabeth Singleton—freeing him from the "melancholy dependencies of bachelorism"—Simms subverts naïve nineteenth-century notions of marriage and domesticity. Marked "by the characteristics of passion & imagination," Simms believed that Castle Dismal constituted one of the "best specimens of [his] powers of creating & combining, to say nothing of a certain intensifying egotism, which marks all [his] writings written in the first person." Edgar Allen Poe considered it "one of the most original fictions ever penned," confirming the genius of Simms; Evert A. Duyckinck, close friend and contemporary critic of Simms, called it "one of the best ghost stories we have ever read." As recent as 1992, John C. Guilds considered the work to be excellent in "establishing atmosphere, tone, and mood."


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781611172614
Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
Publication date: 05/09/2013
Series: Projects of the Simms Initiatives
Edition description: Revised ed.
Pages: 192
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range: 18 Years
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews