The Cold Embrace

This original anthology presents 19 short stories that cover nearly a century of speculative fiction by women authors. Selections range from Mary Shelley's "Transformation" (1830), a pendant to Frankenstein in its themes and motifs, to "Where Their Fire Is Not Quenched" (1922) by May Sinclair, a tale of time travel that follows its heroine to Hell and back. Gripping narratives include Virginia Woolf's "A Haunted House," in which a ghostly couple revisit their former home; "A Wedding Chest" by Vernon Lee, a story of romance and revenge that unfolds in Renaissance Italy; and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," recounting a woman's psychic possession by the previous occupant of her attic bedroom. Additional tales include E. Nesbit's "From the Dead," "The Eyes" by Edith Wharton, Elizabeth Gaskell's "Curious If True," and many others. Editor S. T. Joshi offers an extensive Introduction as well as notes on each of the authors.