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Ta-da! :-)

Thank you very much Steve aka Karswell!

Also be sure to check out Images from the Gothic film :+The Crow+: on right sidebar and at bottom. It's one of my favorites [RIP Brandon Lee].

Soon to come:

1. Cover scans of Belmont Double Gothics.
2. Cover scan of a Signet Double Gothic (ordered yesterday).

With the exception of one Double Gothic (found locally), I've purchased the others from bookstores in Canada. Were these books specially printed for Canadian readers?

Those cover scans were found on the 'net: One via Fantasticfiction.co.uk, one via Canadian bookseller, and the others via web site which catalogs old "double" fiction books (including sci-fi). Will credit sources as they're posted.

3. Cover scans of Sinister House of Secret Love, Vol. 1 - 3. A comic buy/trade/sell company scanned those covers and of course I'll credit the source.

And of course a book review is forthcoming when I'm done savoring the current. ;-)

:+: The New Garnet Night :+:

I'm happy to announce this blog has been revamped. The changes:

1. Photos of cover art obtained from Ebay and Fantasticfiction.co.uk downloaded into my Photobucket account and posted here (with appropriate credit). Steve aka Karswell of "The Horrors of It All" suggested I check Ebay for scans/images, as it's a veritable library of same. He was right. :-) I'm not an Ebay shopper, didn't know this. Thank you Steve! Basically there are only 4 cover art I've not been able to locate. As I work an average of 55 hours per week on the computer, this is a definite and welcomed shortcut. As to my own scanner, flu and cold and relatives/in-laws and impending holidays have conspired to push that back another 2 weeks at least. We've obtained a used computer (returnable). If installing the scanner on that fails, I'll consider a new computer.

Anyway, be sure to scroll through Old Posts to see the cover art of "Bells of Widow's Bay" and etc.

2. I've included (right-hand sidebar) -- permanently -- the fantabulous cover arts by Barrymore Tebbs and Steve/Karswell for my submission "The Tragedy of Sutterbury Manor" which Absinthe of "Gloomy Sunday" hosted as part of a contest. Thanks again to all!

3. A banner is forthcoming via Steve/Karswell. We're hammering out the final touches on it.

The Waiting Sands by Susan Howatch [1966]

As I think this novel would make a good movie, I must give it 5 stars. :-)

Cover scan obtained via Ebay (note the camera icon in right lower corner).

The initial setting is 1960s England. Rachel and Rohan are life-long platonic friends from childhood. They share a brother-sister type bond. Rachel goes abroad (to continental Europe), meets a female friend named Decima at a school. Both return to England. Rachel hopes to fix Decima up with Rohan, but alas his cousin Charles snatches the beautiful Scottish heiress up before Rohan can blink. Charles and Decima marry 4 months after meeting. Charles is a sociable Englishman of letters, a professor of history and roughly 15 years Decima's senior. He indulges Decima's wish to mainly reside at Roshven -- her father's ancestral estate in the Scottish Highlands, NW of Inverness.

Rachel and Decima lose touch. Rohan frequently visits his cousin Charles at Roshven, but oddly and sadly Decima never invites Rachel to visit and she's too proud to invite herself to accompany Rohan during his visits to Charles.

Two years later Rachel receives an apology and an invitation in the mail from Decima. Her 21st birthday is two weeks away. Decima (I like that name btw) sounds a bit nervous and edgy in the letter; she wants to see Rachel again, yes -- but she also fears she may not live to see her 21st birthday and to that end would like Rachel to come and help safeguard her through the event. If Decima does arrive at her 21st birthday, all of Roshven is hers; if not, Charles inherits it as her next of kin as per Decima's father's Will.

Rachel, curious though hesitant, agrees. She's particularly curious to finally visit Roshven, after all the wonderful tales Rohan's told her about it. When Rachel arrives, she discovers another "couple" is staying at Roshven: The Careys. They are brother and sister, Daniel and Rebecca.

Within 24 hours' time Rachel comes to realize she's unwittingly walked smack-dab into a finely-woven web of deceit, scheming and intrigue. She's become a pawn -- for more than just one person.

It's a very finely crafted story filled with twists and turns. The story is told from the viewpoints and perspectives of each character, alternately -- although always in narrative form; this definitely boosts the story's appeal. The Scottish Highlands, ocean, weather, wild life descriptions are keen; as if you're there.

I especially liked the 3 couples but of different orientations aspect: We have a husband and wife...blood brother and sister...life-long platonic friends who are like siblings but aren't. Rather unique.

The ending was the perfect "wrap up" to the entire story. Excellent overall!

The cast of characters as I visualized them:

Rachel Lord: Elizabeth Berridge (aged 23)
Rohan Quist: As he's described in the book.
Decima Mannering: Uma Thurman (aged 23)
Charles Mannering: Daniel Day-Lewis (aged 36)
Daniel Carey: Ralph Fiennes (aged 27)
Rebecca Carey: She's a nit...who cares? (aged 24)

"The Curse" of James Dean's Spyder Porsche

I'd heard about "the curse" of this car, but didn't know all these details. This was on Hollywood Myths & Legends last evening (TVLand channel) and everything presented on that show is in this online article, with the exception of Sir Alec Guiness having warned James Dean that the car felt "sinister" to him and that he'd be dead within a week...:

http://www.qsl.net/w5www/dean.html

This definitely is eerie.

Not saying there IS (or was?) a curse on the car. But I'll admit I wouldn't touch that thing with a 10-foot pole in light of its history. The car has gone missing, btw; for decades. Presumably stolen.

Or was it?? ;-P

Gorgeous cover art

A larger version of this 1955 cover of The Quicksilver Pool by Phyllis A. Whitney:

http://tinyurl.com/6h9cat

It's been scanned alongside another. I found the novel yesterday and purchased it solely for the cover art; the story itself runs 310 pages and that's definitely 100 more pages than I care to devote to a novel. ;-) The image was scanned by a French-speaking person trying to sell the items on Ebay. Thank you whoever you are! I didn't count on finding that image on the 'net.

An update about the scanner: I've obtained a used computer (returnable) and will attempt to download the scanner onto it this weekend.

The banner is forthcoming regardless. I'll get an M.O. in the mail to Steve by the weekend.

Meanwhile I've obtained another two dozen Gothics. Have the next 3 to be read picked out, am nearly finished with the current which I'll review soon. Need to obtain another fireproof metal box for my latest in the collection. I'm soooo glad my husband is indulgent in this regard, lol!
;-P

The scanner {I just might faint}

Turned my old dino computer on. Lo and behold I get a "Found New Hardware: HP Deskjet F4200 series" prompt. :-O

Clicked it. "Found New Hardware Installation Wizard" pops up.

It's apparently now installed! :-O :-D

{::dizzy with shock and delight::}

But something seems to always go wrong...so I'll hold my breath a while longer. Hopefully can start scanning the covers of novels I've reviewed this evening. Then of course I'll need to learn how exactly the process works.

More later and hopefully SOON.

Face in the Pond by Clarissa Ross [1968]

Cover scan obtained via http://gothicnovellover.com/gallery/main.php, which was recommended to me via Barrymore. Here's the LARGE version [sorry, Link feature never works for me]:

http://gothicnovellover.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=1112

This was a beautifully told story and a nice change of pace. It opens in May 1870, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Sarah Bennett, a governess, is on trial for allegedly poisoning her employer, Mr. Gordon, in a fit of jealous pique. The jurors acquit her on the basis of "not proven"...which of course isn't the same as "not guilty." A cloud of suspicion still hangs over Sarah's head.

A handsome blonde man attends the trial throughout. Sarah notices his supportive and kindly gazes at her. He is John Stone, who has also had a run-in with a poisoning. After the trial, the elderly judge -- who is also kindly disposed towards Sarah -- takes her under his wing. She is a guest in his home for dinner and a room, is introduced to the blonde man who'd faithfully attended her trial. John Stone is Master of Dankhurst, and needs a governess for his sickly son, Richard. Sarah agrees to employment with Mr. Stone.

Poison and poisonings continue to shadow Sarah. She begins to suspect most everyone around her, and fearfully wonders if she's unwittingly been lured and trapped into the role of scapegoat for another's activities.

A slashed portrait. A missing portrait. A quiet woman who seems not to be as demure and innocent as she appears. A sickly boy who reports his dead mother's ghost visiting him at night. An unexpected death. John Stone's mysterious secretiveness and moodiness. And just what exactly is his interest in the ancient Egyptian relics in the attic...and interest in the high and fine art of ancient Egyptian poisoning techniques?

I give it 5 stars on a scale of 1 - 5.

I had a hunch who the culprit was about 2/3 of the way through. My hunch was correct.

The only mar on the storytelling is Sarah's intensely suspicious nature (she's got it all figured out after only 24 hours on the estate, plays Judge/Jury/Executioner in her own mind). That, and her silly, unfounded over-trust in Rodney Stone. She blurts out extremely provocative and slanderous accusations with nary a second thought; also, she "confides" the wrong things to Rodney which inadvertently keeps young Richard in danger a bit longer than is necessary. She comes off as a fool, frankly. I could have liked this character a lot better otherwise.

I enjoyed the Richard Stone character, the little boy. He was a definite ray of sunshine.

The cast of characters as I visualized them:

Sarah Bennett: Katharine Ross (age 22)
John Stone: Ewan MacGregor (age 29)
Rodney Stone: Orlando Bloom (age 24)
Abigail Durmot: Emma Thompson (age 28)
Mrs. Fergus: Maggie Smith (age 65)
Richard Stone: As he's described in the book: Blonde hair, blue eyes; a sweet and sincere little boy who deserves better (and who, I'm happy to say, gets just that).