The House by the Church-Yard

Description

The House by the Church-Yard veers away from Le Fanu's usual dark gothic tales as it brings with it more murder mystery than horror. First published in 1863, it is set in 18th century Ireland, in a village near Dublin called Chapelizod. It is a tale of historical murder, deceit, and discovery. The main characters are Lord Castlemallard, his agent Charles Nutter, and his estate manager Mr Dangerfield; Doctor Sturk, the military doctor; General Chattesworth, and his daughter Gertrude; and the mysterious Mr Mervyn, who becomes a rival with Dangerfield in their attentions for Gertrude. With sharply observed characters, and comic sub-plots, The House by the Church-Yard was apparently a source for James Joyce's Finnegans Wake. The village where the story takes place, Chapelizod, is where Sheridan Le Fanu lived when he was young.

This book has 209,758 words, 392 pages in the PDF version, and was originally published in 1863.

Production notes: This edition of The House by the Church-Yard was published by Global Grey on the 28th June 2021, and updated on the 9th July 2022. The artwork used for the cover is 'View of a Church-Yard' by Edmund Koken.