BOOK REVIEW: WOMEN’S WEIRD 2 EDITED BY MELISSA EDMUNDSON (1891 – 1937)

Whether one approaches Women’s Weird 2 from a scholarly or historical perspective or simply as a fan of Weird Fiction, this collection is a worthwhile read.

A collection of weird fiction written entirely by women? Yes, please.

While the stories in this collection represent an amalgamation of sub-genres ranging from outright ghost stories to “what did he bring back from the jungle?” pulpy horror adventures, the common thread of weirdness ties them all together. Many of the stories also have elements of surreal or disturbing domesticity (note how many of the titles include houses, rooms, etc.), which may be attributed to the era and the commonality of the authors’ gender. While not all the main characters are women (“The Black Stone Statue,” for example, has an almost entirely male cast and feels like an outlier for the anthology), most of the stories offer up commentary on the roles of women within society—but this is done subtly. This anthology is not moralizing—just a well-curated collection of weird stories by talented women.

The stories in the anthology are presented in chronological order:

“Twin-Identity” by Edith Stewart Drewry (1891)

The collection starts strong with a female French detective story which evolves into an eerie twin-telepathy mystery – a delightful read that sets a good tone for the rest of the anthology.

“The Blue Room” by Lettice Galbraith (1897)

Possibly my least favorite of the collection, this story feels the most like a traditional run-of-the-mill Victorian ghost story. But at least it has plucky (and educated!) female characters.

“The Green Bowl” by Sarah Orne Jewett (1901)

For a story from the last century, this has a great feminist feel to it, with the main characters being two women travelling alone and having adventures. One woman is gifted a strange bowl that seems to grant (for better or for worse) fortune-telling abilities. This is like a time-capsule of Victorian ideals and fascination with psychic abilities.

“Dreamer” by Barbara Baynton (1902)

A delightfully atmospheric story set in Australia about a young woman struggling against the elements to get home to her mother. This one has just enough uncertainty whether anything supernatural actually occurs to really pique my interest.

“The Hall Bedroom” by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1905)    

This rather odd tale takes the form of journal entries from a resident and the owner of a boarding house. The boarder has bizarre sensory experiences in a particular room in the house, and it turns out that room has a sordid history.

“The House” by Katherine Mansfield (1912)

I found this story harder to follow than the others, but I was absolutely along for the ride. A woman takes shelter on a porch during a rainstorm and gets swept up in the psychic drama inside the house…I think?

“The Red Bungalow” by Bithia Mary Croker (1919)

Despite the uncomfortable colonial dynamics, “The Red Bungalow” might be my favorite story in this collection. The Gothic feel mixed with the old British colonial Indian setting was enchanting. A British army wife wants to live in a house the locals won’t touch, and it turns out their fear is well-founded. The story was dripping with dread and foreboding, leaving me waiting for the other shoe to drop the whole time.

“Outside the House” by Bessie Kyffin-Taylor (1920)

Another top-contender for favorite story. A disabled veteran travels to his fiancée’s family home for the first time, and discovers no one in the family is allowed outside in the gardens after dark—for creepy, inadequately explained reasons. He can’t help but push the boundaries, and pays the price for his curiosity. A delightfully gothic (and actually somewhat scary!) story.

“Florence Flannery” by Marjorie Bowen (1924)

An amusing story that just keeps twisting. A new wife is taken to her husband’s ancestral home, and finds her name carved in the ancient window. She begins to have bizarre memories, believing she is living out a curse from hundreds of years ago. Has she lived that long? And what’s up with the weird fish in the pond?

“Young Magic” by Helen Simpson (1925)

Another story where the supernatural elements are at least somewhat called into question. We start with a child with an over-active imagination who has an imaginary friend who may be real. The girl grows up to (probably?) have special powers.

“The House Party at Smoky Island” by Lucy Maud Montgomery (1935)

A kind of classic “wealthy guests gathered inside during a storm to tell ghost stories” kind of plot, including a couple whose wife is afraid her husband poisoned his first wife. A surprise visitor explains what REALLY happened, but the “gotcha” moment in this one feels a bit awkward.

“The Black Stone Statue” by Mary Elizabeth Counselman (1937)

This story seems like a bit of an outlier—it has a distinctly masculine feel, which I found quite interesting. Told as a confessional letter by a sculptor, the story details his meeting with a famous adventurer who picked up an amazing—but horrifying—item in the wilds: a seemingly other-worldly creature who turns everything it touches into a weird black stone.

“Roaring Tower” by Stella Gibbons (1937)

The collection is wrapped up with this delightful tale of a troublesome teenager sent to stay with a relative, and who discovers a ruin called the Roaring Tower which emits eerie sounds that may or may not be evidence of a creature from local myths. I love the uncertainty of what is happening in this story, and the dreamlike feel.

After reading the anthology’s well-crafted Introduction, I was prepared to step into a collection that felt a bit academic—a collection designed for critical analysis more than enjoyment—but I was pleasantly surprised. Reading the anthology didn’t feel like a school assignment – it was quite entertaining as a pleasure-read. While the collection portrays many Victorian framing conventions (ghost stories told around the fire, confessional letters or journals, etc.), the stories themselves are quite accessible to the modern audience—some might even be described as timeless. I also appreciated the range of authors the editor selected for the anthology; from lesser-known authors to household names like Lucy Maud Montgomery (of Anne of Green Gables fame) and Stella Gibbons (of Cold Comfort Farm fame). The authors were also gathered from a wider geographic range than the original Women’s Weird collection—from the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc.—and spanned almost 50 years of work.

Whether one approaches Women’s Weird 2 from a scholarly or historical perspective or simply as a fan of Weird Fiction, this collection is a worthwhile read.

Review by Amber Logan

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