British Library
John Travers has been hanged for the murder of his mother-in-law Helga, but to those who knew him something is amiss. Driven by justice and a sense of uncanny forces at work, John’s friend Doctor Toogood recounts a haunting tale of love and jealousy under the fell influence of a shadowy and implacable evil. First published in 1927, this novel by husband-and-wife writing duo Rosalie and Edward Synton (real surname Corse-Scott) has been lost for nearly a century and returns now from the Library collections to deliver its occult thrills anew.
A newly rediscovered novel of the occult unearthed by the venerable Johnny Mains and presented here by the British Library's Tales of the Weird imprint, a most fitting home.
The Syntons, pen-names of Rosalie & Edward Corse-Scott, the former a teacher, the latter a soldier and farmer, tell an occult story of murder and manipulation across three perspectives, with the first doing most of the heavy lifting.
Sometime in the 1920s, in the aftermath of WWI, John Travers is hanged for the murder of his mother-in-law, Helga. Telling his story is his friend, and fellow Helga-hater, Dr Toogood who reveals her devious, manipulative and possibly supernatural nature as he relates the effect she had on his friend and the actions taken. The novel's second part is provided by Travers as he awaits execution before the book ends with the maleficent mother-in-law herself.
I was really quite pleasantly surprised by this one. Admittedly, it drags in parts but generally it's a nippy little tale with an unusual premise and an unexpected denouement.
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