Today, I am pleased to be sharing another book review. Read on to find out what I thought of Stephanie Barron's Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron . But first, let's meet the book... Blurb The restorative power of the ocean brings Jane Austen and her beloved brother Henry, to Brighton after Henry's wife is lost to a long illness. But the crowded, glittering resort is far from peaceful, especially when the lifeless body of a beautiful young society miss is discovered in the bedchamber of none other than George Gordon--otherwise known as Lord Byron. As a poet and a seducer of women, Byron has carved out a shocking reputation for himself--but no one would ever accuse him of being capable of murder. Now it falls to Jane to pursue this puzzling investigation and discover just how "mad, bad, and dangerous to know" Byron truly is. And she must do so without falling victim to the charming versifier's legendary charisma, lest she, too, become a cautionary example for ...
One of the shortest stories included in my upcoming anthology was written for an Edgar Allan Poe competition in 2021, in which my work came Runner-Up, and is titled The Clockmaker.
Edgar Allan Poe is most famous for his works of Gothic Horror, but it is easy to forget that he also dabbled in Science Fiction, as did many of his Gothic contemporaries. Indeed, a quick Google search has informed me that there are anthologies which solely contain his Science Fiction.
The Clockmaker was designed to marry these Horror and SciFi elements to create the sort of story which Poe himself might have written. I won’t deny it: I was pleased with the outcome.
At only 500 words, it tells the story of a man who pays a visit to an old schoolfriend (you will realise, if you read much of my Gothic Horror, that old school/university friends play vital roles!) who is an inventor, and spends some time admiring a clock which he has made. I won’t spoil by telling you the ending, but I will say that he does regret having studied the clock so carefully!
Flash fiction is a favourite of mine. I am not saying that I am always good at it(!) but there is an immediate sense of satisfaction which follows the creation of a good piece of it, without the sense of emptiness which follows the conclusion of a novel! It’s also a pleasure to work up something so short, because you can pore over it again and again in a relatively short space of time.
Unfortunately, flash fiction is a difficult market to sell. Multiple publishers have expressed an interest in The Clockmaker, only to turn it down because it is so short – one even politely encouraging me to work it up. But it owns its 500 words, and who is to say that it would cope with more?! So, it is included in this anthology, and perhaps each person who reads it will never again hear the chimes of a clock in the same way.
[You can read Judith's earlier Gothic Horror blog posts here]
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