Re: Robert Hichens : Return of the Soul

"Chris Ward" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Hi Folks,
>
> I've recently been on (for tight-wallet me, anyway) a bit of a small
> press spending spree (funded by good old ebay and a large clear out of
> unwanted stuff).
>
> One of the most impressive books I've thus purchased has come in for
> very little attention here (I know 'cos I check the archives when I'm
> looking for recommendations), namely Robert Hichens' "Return of the
> Soul" (Midnight House; ed ST Joshi). So I figured I'd post off my
> impressions of this book in the hope of drawing forth opinions from
> others. (Note, this is a very informal "review", I don't even have my
> book with me. But no-one else has come into work, and its cold, and I
> have a sore throat, and look I just don't feel very motivated
> work-wise today, ok ?)
>
> Prior to reading this book, I'd only read the one tale by Hichens (and
> you won't get many points for guessing which); I'm very glad to have
> extended this reading to the remaining 7 stories in RotS. I very much
> hope the planned follow up volumes appear some day.
>
> I won't describe much in the way of the book's production, it looks
> pretty much like the other MH books I have seen. But the stories
> themselves left me highly impressed and pleasantly surprised.
>
> There are 8 tales in the book:
>
> The Return of the Soul (n)
> A Tribute of Souls (n)
> The Face of the Monk (ss)
> Sea Change (n)
> The Cry of the Child (n)
> How Love Came to Professor Guildea (n)
> The Lady and the Beggar (ss)
> The Figure in the Mirage (ss)
>
> 5 of which are of novella length  and 3 short stories (n & ss
> respectively above), not to mention an introduction by ST Joshi which
> is informative, but as usual for STJ contains some degree of spoilers
> for the stories. Hichens seems to be at his best in the longer tales,
> all of which are of some merit and all but "the Cry of the Child" very
> effective indeed. The shorter stories I found comparatively slight,
> with the possible of "The Face of the Monk".
>
> In his introduction STJ compares Hichens to Blackwood and Machen,
> these strike me as very apt comparisons, although I was also reminded
> in certain tales of Hogg and Onions (that's the authors, not some
> rustic supper) through the emphasis on the psychological aspects of
> the supernatural (Onions) and the setting and certain aspects of a
> particular tale (Hogg). STJ also highlights certain recurring themes
> in the stories, whose very recurrence I think strengthens rather than
> weakens this collection (I don't want to be too specific and spoil the
> stories).
>
> The first story up is the titular "Return of the Soul", I'm guessing
> that this is probably the 2nd most familiar of Hichens' tales via its
> inclusion in one of the STJ Dover anthologies, but as I implied above
> 'twas new to me. It is a belter of a story in which  the main
> protagonist, an honourable man, pays for the sins of his cruel
> childhood. (I won't specify whether he pays through self inflicted
> psychological angst or actual supernatural events).

This is a great story, which should be much better known. I wonder why it
has not been anthologized more often.

> The second tale "A Tribute of Souls" is set in rural Scotland and
> involves a Faustian bargain struck by a sickly Laird. (Yes this is the
> one which reminds me of Hogg). The tale perhaps follows a more well
> worn path than RotS, but it is superbly handled and a real treat to
> read.

Agreed, though I thought it was just a little too long.

> "The Face of the Monk" is the first of the 3 shorts, and to my mind
> the only really memorable one. The supernatural elements in this tale
> are used as a fairly straightforward psychological metaphor, but it is
> nonetheless a haunting if uncomplicated tale.

Nice, but I slightly preferred the other two, because the metaphors in them
were not quite so "neat".

> "Sea Change" is by far the longest story in the book and the one I
> tackled last (I can be lazy that way). I found myself not fully
> engaged with the opening sections of the story (coming to it after
> "The Cry of the Child", which I read 2nd last,  I was worried about
> the direction 'twould take) but the further I read, the more absorbed
> I became. Once again, both  the psychological and weird elements of
> the tale are strong and the tale gains in momentum as we are drawn
> further into the web of deceit woven by the well intentioned narrator.
> By the end of this tale I was thoroughly won over to its merits.
>
> "The Cry of the Child" is the only one of the five longer tales that I
> didn't care for, which isn't to say it doesn't have any interest. The
> premise of the tale is intriguing and the beginning full of promise.
> But rather than develop along the fraught psychological route of the
> stronger tales in the volume this one veers into the territory of
> Blackwood-at-his-worst (and I am generally a fan of Blackwood). All I
> can say is that I believe Blackwood would have made an even less
> satisfactory job than Hichens of the ending of the tale. This was my
> only real disappointment in the book (and it all started out so well
> too, sigh)

I feel the opposite way about these two tales. "The Cry of the Child" worked
for me, but I was begging for mercy from "Sea Change" before it was finally
over. "Sea Change" is more interesting in plot than the other, but the
characters take so long to get where they are going that this reader (who
arrived quite a while ahead of them) had almost given up waiting for them by
the time they showed up. It is almost a great tale, but its length seems
excessive, just as it does in some ghost stories by Onions.  For me, the
less ambitious tale, "The Cry of the Child" could stand to be pared down a
bit, but the characters were convincing enough that I did not mind spending
a little extra time with them.

> "How Love..." Well I don't want to say much here. I'm sure (almost)
> everyone has read this, or at least owns a copy in an antho. And you
> all either love it or hate it. Personally I love it.  I didn't on
> first reading, though. But with each subsequent attempt this story
> rises in my estimation.

Same here. I was probably 12 or 13 when I first read it, and seem to have
completely missed its point. Every time thereafter it has never failed to
raise a chill.

> However, I reckon that both "Return" and
> "Tribute" are of similar quality and perhaps less likely to polarise
> opinions than "How Love". (Sea Change is also excellent, but at least
> half again as long).
>
> The book ends with 2 shorts which come perhaps as a bit of an
> anti-climax. There is nothing wrong with either story, but there just
> isn't very much to them either. "The Lady and the Tramp" features that
> memorable spaghetti -eating scene in the Italian restaurant
> where...hang on a minute, that *can't* be right.  "The Lady and the
> Beggar" is a story dealing with guilt and the supernatural and thus
> fits well enough into one of the books main themes.

I actually liked this one better than "The Face of the Monk". Perhaps, as
with our differences of opinion on "Sea Change" vs. "The Cry of the Child" I
was just more susceptible to Hichens's brand of subdued sentimentality than
you were, Chris.

> "Mirage" is a
> brief weird tale set in the desert (no ?!) and similar to a short by
> Borges whose name escapes me at present ("Soldier and the Maid"?).

I thought Hichens succeeded in capturing the proper mood for the tale, but
the tale itself is a slight one.

> Well that's about that. Not terribly insightful I don't suppose, but
> this book really enthused me. I'm surprised that it has remained so
> long in print (though, coming late to small press - appreciation, this
> kinda suited me). Perhaps Hichens isn't held in the same affection as
> Onions, Machen et al. But perhaps if more folks read this book a Sea
> Change (sorry) in opinion would occur.
>
> In summary, I highly recommend this one.
>
> Best wishes -Chris

I second that recommendation. Anyone who enjoys the ghost stories of Oliver
Onions should love this book.

Best (and a belated Happy Thanksgiving),

Jim