I Come Bearing Gifts: The Demon of Brockenheim

[eldritchhobbit]

Recently Gary Dowell, editor of the wonderful Far Fetched Fables: The Audio Fantasy Fiction Magazine (sibling to StarShipSofa), invited me to contribute a fantasy-related "Looking Back on Genre History" to his podcast. It occurred to me that this was the perfect opportunity to share with everyone an almost-but-not-quite-lost work of epic Gothic fantasy: 1877's The Demon of Brockenheim; or The Enchanted Ring.

You can hear Part 1 of my two-part introduction to The Demon of Brockenheim here for free on Far Fetched Fables. Part 2 will be available next week, and I will post the link when it is.

And here for your reading pleasure is a free PDF of the novel from its publication in serial form in The Australian Journal: download The Demon of Brockenheim.

Happy listening and happy reading!



If you'd like to get your genre geek on a bit more, here are some suggestions.

Bibliography/Recommended Further Reading Related to My Demon of Brockenheim "Looking Back" Segments
- Anonymous. The Saga of the Volsungs. Jesse Byock, ed. Penguin Classics, 2000.
- Doig, James, ed. Australian Gothic : An Anthology of Australian Supernatural Fiction, 1867-1939. Equilibrium Books, 2007.
- Ellis, Markman. The History of Gothic Fiction. Edinburgh University Press, 2001.
- Fouqué, Baron de la Motte. The Magic Ring. Amy H. Sturgis, ed. Valancourt Books, 2006.
- Gelder, Kenneth and Rachael Weaver, eds. The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction. Melbourne University Press, 2007.
- Johnson-Woods, Toni. Beyond Ephemera: The Australian Journal (1865-1962) as Fiction Publisher. Diss. University of Queensland, 2000.
- Punter. David. The Literature of Terror: A History of Gothic Fictions from 1765 to the Present Day. Volume I: The Gothic Tradition. Longmans, 1980.
- Punter, David and Glennis Byron. The Gothic. Blackwell, 2004.
- Thomsett, Michael T. The Inquisition: A History. McFarland, 2010.
- Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. Allen & Unwin. 1954, 1955.
- Yates, Frances A. The Rosicrucian Enlightenment. Routledge, 2001.

Comments

[lin4gondor.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the PDF! It looks like an intriguing tale!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

My pleasure! I think it's a fascinating read. I hope you enjoy it!

[equusentric.livejournal.com]

Woot! Sounds like a great listen and an enjoyable read, thanks!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Yay! You're most welcome. :) I hope you enjoy!

[ace hamilton (from livejournal.com)]

I haven't had time to read any of this yet, but I wanted to thank you for posting this! I love investigating the Gothic literature. I just finished Radcliffe's The Italian. I've read some obscure things too, but I wasn't aware of this one at all.

Have you ever read "The events at Poroth Farm" by T.E.D. Klein? It's an interesting Lovecraftian tale in which the narrator keeps a running tally of the Gothic books he is reading and his reactions to them. It was later expanded into a novel, but 'tis better to read the novella first. It's been collected three times I believe. I love that one of his story collections was called Reassuring Tales.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

My pleasure! I love The Italian. Although now when I read the descriptions of Schedoni, I can't help but think of Severus Snape!

Have you ever read "The events at Poroth Farm" by T.E.D. Klein?

Oooh, I have not. But it sounds like something I'd really enjoy. It's going on my "find this and read it" list. Thanks so much for the recommendation!