The Lost Stradivarius (1895), by J. Meade Falkner, is a short novel of ghosts and the evil that can be invested in an object, in this case an extremely fine Stradivarius violin. It has been described as "one of Falkner's three celebrated novels" and as a "psychic romance".[1]
 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | J. Meade Falkner |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Horror novel |
| Publisher | William Blackwood |
Publication date | 1895 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 296 pp |
Plot
editAfter finding the violin of the title in a hidden compartment in his college rooms, the protagonist, a wealthy young heir, becomes increasingly secretive as well as obsessed by a particular piece of music, which seems to have the power to call up the ghost of the violin's previous owner. Roaming from England to Italy, the story involves family love, lordly depravity, and the tragedy of obsession, all conveyed in a "high" serious tone not uncommon in late Victorian literature. Preceding M. R. James's ghost stories by several years, it has been called the novel James might have written, had he written novels.[2]
Broadcast
editThis story was adapted as the first episode of the ATV produced ITV horror anthology series Mystery and Imagination, broadcast on 29 January 1966. All known copies of the episode were wiped or destroyed, and only a complete low-quality audio recording is known to exist.
In August 2008, a Joanna David reading of the novel was broadcast on BBC Radio 7.[3]
References
edit- ^ XIX Century Fiction, Part I, A–K (Jarndyce, Bloomsbury, 2019).
- ^ Bleiler, Everett (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers. p. 112.
- ^ "The Lost Stradivarius by J Meade Falkner". BBC Online. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
External links
edit- The Lost Stradivarius at Project Gutenberg
The Lost Stradivarius public domain audiobook at LibriVox- "Review: The Lost Stradivarius, by J Meade Falkner". Vulpes Libris Blog. 10 January 2014.
- Brandstatter, Tasha (20 May 2012). "Review: The Lost Stradivarius by John Meade Falkner". The Project Gutenberg Project.
- Mackintosh, Paul St James (11 April 2015). "Book review: The Lost Stradivarius, by John Meade Falkner". TeleRead.com.
- Tallis, F. R. (13 July 2013). "Book of a lifetime: The Lost Stradivarius, By J Meade Falkner". The Independent.
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