Masquerades : Studies in the morbid by Shane Leslie
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"Masquerades" by Shane Leslie is a collection of short stories written in the early 20th century. Subtitled “Studies in the Morbid,” it blends polished, often satirical and macabre vignettes set from papal Rome to wild Connemara, London’s demi-monde, and medieval Spain. Expect psychologically edged tales of temptation, superstition, cruelty, and artistic obsession, rendered in rich imagery with a sly, ironic bite. The opening of the collection moves through four striking setups. First,
a ceremonial portrait of an aged pontiff gives way to a night visitation in which a shadow tempts him—echoing the gospel trials—to power, spectacle, and a homesickness he dares not answer, ending with the Inquisitor’s dry verdict that even the Tempter is “damned home-sick.” Next, a London governess in rain-lashed Connemara meets a fox-maddened squire; amid rustic humor and unease, a night of eerie howling culminates in a wake where foxes slip through the candlelit room and the dead master is found disfigured—folkloric retribution made flesh. Then, an undertaker’s clerk, buoyed by a devoted seamstress-muse who sacrifices herself to get his poetic drama staged, ascends to fame, discards her, loses his gift, and returns only to find her dead and his inspiration gone. Finally, in a siege tale, Don Balthasar “the Cruel” encircles Don Ximenes’s fortress while its exhausted Seneschal fends off assaults; two stalwarts demand his daughter and wife as the price of holding out, and after a brutal night’s defense he faces an impossible choice as the excerpt breaks. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Leslie, Shane, 1885-1971 |
|---|---|
| Title | Masquerades : Studies in the morbid |
| Original Publication | London: John Long, 1924. |
| Contents | The Pope's temptation -- Connemara -- Inspiration -- Balthasar the Cruel -- A saving phantasm -- Jealousy -- The drummer of Gordonmuir -- The supreme compliment -- A study in smoke -- The missionary -- Midir and Etain -- Kathleen -- John Saltus -- Loaded dice -- At the high table -- A saint -- Cannes -- The necrophile -- The Beau geste -- The evil eye -- The weird gilly. |
| Credits | Tom Trussel, Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PR: Language and Literatures: English literature |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Fantasy fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77896 |
| Release Date | Feb 9, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 248 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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