Algernon Blackwood's picture
23 followers

Algernon Blackwood


UK flag (1869 - 1951)

Algernon Blackwood was born into a well-to-do Kentish family. His parents, converts to a Calvinistic sect, led an austere life, ill-suited to their dreamy and sensitive son. During adolescence, he became fascinated by hypnotism and the supernatural and, on leaving university, studied Hindu philosophy and occultism. Later, he was to draw on these beliefs and experiences in his writing.

Sent away to Canada at the age of twenty, his attempts at making a living were wholly unsuccessful and shortly after his return to England, he began to write. The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, published in 1906, was followed by a series of psychic detective stories, featuring John Silence, 'physician extraordinary'. His reputation as one of the greatest exponents of supernatural fiction began to grow.Chiefly known for his ghost stories, Blackwood wrote in many different forms within the genre. His most personal works, however, are his 'mystical' novels, for example The Centaur, where he explores man's empathy with the forces of the universe.

Blackwood also wrote children's fiction. A Prisoner in Fairyland was adapted into the play (later the musical), Starlight Express.

Later in life, Blackwood turned to writing radio plays, and in 1947 he began a new career on BBC TV telling ghost stories. He received a knighthood in 1949.
 

Genres: Horror, Literary Fiction
 
New and upcoming books
December 2023

thumb
The Willows and Others
 
Novels
   The Education of Uncle Paul (1909)
   Jimbo (1909)
   The Human Chord (1910)
   The Centaur (1911)
   The Man Whom the Trees Loved (1912)
   A Prisoner in Fairyland (1913)
   The Extra Day (1915)
   Julius Levallon (1916)
   The Wave (1916)
   The Garden of Survival (1918)
   The Promise of Air (1918)
   The Bright Messenger (1921)
   Dudley and Gilderoy (1929)
   The Fruit Stoners (1934)
   How the Circus Came to Tea (1968)
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumbthumb
 
Collections
   The Empty House (1906)
   The Listener, and Other Stories (1907)
   Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood (1911)
   Pan's Garden (1912)
   Incredible Adventures (1914)
   The Lost Valley (1914)
   Ten Minute Stories (1914)
   Day and Night Stories (1917)
   The Wolves of God (1921) (with Wilfred Wilson)
   Tongues of Fire (1924)
   The Dance of Death (1927)
   Full Circle (1929)
   The Mask (1929)
   Strange Stories (1929)
   The Willows (1934)
   Shocks (1935)
   The Tales of Algernon Blackwood (1938)
   Selected Tales of Algernon Blackwood (1943)
   Selected Short Stories of Algernon Blackwood (1945)
   The Doll and One Other (1946)
   Tales of the Uncanny and Supernatural (1949)
   In the Realm of Terror (1957)
   Tales of Mysterious and Macabre, Vol. 2 (1962)
   Tales of the Mysterious and Macabre (1962)
   The Insanity of Jones (1964)
   Selected Tales (1964)
   The Best Supernatural Tales of Algernon Blackwood (1973)
   Tales of Terror and Darkness (1977)
   A Mysterious House (1987)
   The Magic Mirror (1989)
   Tales of the Uncanny and Supernatural, Vol. 1 (2002)
   Pan's Garden / Incredible Adventures (2007)
   The Face of the Earth and Other Imaginings (2015)
   The First Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK (2022)
   The Whisperers and Other Stories (2022)
   The Dover Anthology of Classic Christmas Stories (2023) (with others)
   The Wendigo and Other Stories (2023)
   The Willows and Others (2023)
thumbthumbthumbno image available
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumbthumbthumb
no image availablethumbthumbthumb
no image availablethumbthumbthumb
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumb
 
Novellas and Short Stories
   A Haunted Island (1899)
   The Strange Adventures of a Private Secretary in New York (1906)
   The Wendigo (1910)
   The Glamour of the Snow (1912)
   Ancient Lights (1914)
   The Damned (1914)
   The Wings of Horus (1917)
   The Camp of the Dog (2004)
   The Listener (2004)
   Max Hensig (2004)
   The Nemesis of Fire (2004)
   The Other Wing (2004)
   Running Wolf (2004)
   Secret Worship (2004)
   A Victim Of Higher Space (2004)
   Wayfarers (2004)
thumbthumbthumbno image available
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumbthumbthumb
 
Series contributed to
thumb
 
Non fiction show
 
Omnibus editions show
 
Anthologies containing stories by Algernon Blackwood
thumb
The Weird Cat (2023)
edited by
S T Joshi and Katherine Kerestman

More anthologies 


Visitors also looked at these authors


About Fantastic Fiction       Information for Authors