The Novels of Sheridan Le Fanu, Volume Two, including (complete and unabridged: Checkmate, Willing To Die and Uncle Silas

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All three novels are of the genre Sensation Novel which is a Victorian ancestor to the detective novel. Crime is at the heart of the novels, but there is no detective hero, and the crime goes alongside the melodrama. ‘Checkmate’ involves self-interest, dishonesty, deception, revenge, and murder. From the beginning the reader knows there is something not right about a gentleman with impeccable credentials. Eventually the plot is exposed and revenge is being played out as carefully as a game of chess. ‘Willing to Die’ was published after the author’s death and like his other novels is distinguished by his able construction, ingenuity of plot, and power in the presentation of the mysterious and supernatural. ‘Uncle Silas’ is a terrifying book. Young Maud is in trouble when her father dies and she is put into the care of her Uncle Silas. She is a likable heroine in increasingly perilous situations, leading to a hair-raising climax. All along the reader knows about the dangers and Maud doesn’t, leading to the reader experiencing high anxiety because of this knowledge. Le Fanu brilliantly finds a way to show us and not show us the monster at the same time. Read at your peril!