Re: Bernard Capes, anyone?

On Saturday, August 7, 1999 at 1:00:00 AM UTC-6, [email protected] wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] (Mark Dillon) wrote:
> >
> > So... what do the rest of you think of Capes?
> Well... What follows is a review that I did for All Hallows some months
> back. I immediately placed Capes' collection on my "Top 100" list. A
> truly remarkable writer... I keep meaning to check out his mysteries...
> From the moment you glance at the striking cover art by Richard
> Lamb, (reminiscent as it is of the late, great Lee Brown Coye); you
> have the feeling that this book is something special. There are few
> authors whose work is more maddeningly difficult to track down than
> that of Bernard Capes.. I was introduced to his work some years through
> one of Hugh Lamb's anthologies. Since that time I=E2=80=99ve always consi=
dered
> the appearance of a Capes story in an anthology to be a cause for
> celebration. His stories have appeared sporadically in other
> anthologies edited by Lamb, as well as those of Michael Cox and Richard
> Dalby. Regrettably, other than the aforementioned anthology appearances
> and the difficult Equation Chiller paperback, his work is available
> only in fabulously rare collections from the turn of the century. The
> production of this book might well be considered tantamount to a public
> service.
> Capes did most of his writing in the early 1900's, too late for
> the fin de siecle and just a tad too early for induction into "the
> James Gang". The stories in The Black Reaper run the gamut from
> altruistic spectral intervention as is in "The Glass Ball" to
> horrifying Grand Guignol tales of retribution such as "The Apothecary's
> Revenge". In all, it is Capes uncanny eye for detail that raises these
> stories far above to the status of mere popular literature. From short
> fables such as =E2=80=9CThe White Hare=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9CThe Thing in=
 the Forest=E2=80=9D to longer
> more ambitious work like the novelettes =E2=80=9CThe Accursed Cordonnier=
=E2=80=9D and
> =E2=80=9CAn Eddy on the Floor=E2=80=9D Capes demonstrates a mastery of mo=
od and
> language that has few equals.
> Historical horror comes in to play here as well in the titular piece,
> images of the terrible Black Reaper marching inexorably towards the
> town with his plague-bearing scythe slowly swing back and forth is
> likely to remain with the reader long after the book has been placed on
> the shelf. In this story, the personification of the plague is a
> terrifying figure, but one that is capable of showing mercy. To say
> whether or not he does so would be to spoil the story. What Capes has
> accomplished here is a merger of the classic ghost and an elemental
> force, a unique elemental force in that the characteristics of purpose
> and intelligence are displayed, making The Reaper that much more
> horrific=E2=80=A6
> What makes this collection of such interest is the sheer variety of
> plot devices utilized by the author. Rather than staying in the close
> confines of the ghostly tale, Capes ranges through a variety of tropes
> covering the entire gamut of weird fiction, in each case making them
> something uniquely his own. Included herein are a marvelously
> suspenseful werewolf tale, with a chase scene to keep you on the edge
> of your seat; and this done isn what must be less than 1500 words!
> There is the remarkably violent tale, =E2=80=9CThe Sword of Corporal Laco=
ste=E2=80=9D,
> with scenes of carnage to make even the most jaded devotee of horror
> stories squirm just a bit. That this story is accomplished in a
> beautiful Victorian prose makes it all the more effective.
> In his ghostly tales Capes ranges from the mad and malign
> manifestations such as =E2=80=9CDark Dignum=E2=80=9D and the evil noblema=
n in =E2=80=9CA Queer
> Cicerone=E2=80=9D to the more bizarre manifestations such as the strange =
and
> misshapen spectre that appears in =E2=80=9CThe Green Bottle=E2=80=9D. Ano=
ther high mark
> of this book is the inclusion of this collection is the novelette =E2=80=
=9CThe
> Accursed Cordonnier=E2=80=9D, a Romance that incorporates the Wandering J=
ew in
> a deft blending of the modern with the mythic. In this tale, the
> Wandering Jew is befret of our sympathies as a doomed wanderer;
> instead, he appears as a figure of timeless evil and menace.
> This book should serve as a ringing testimony to Capes mastery of the
> varied forms of the weird tale, as always, Hugh Lamb has done a
> splendid job of assembling stories from difficult-to-find collections.
> Recently I=E2=80=99ve heard rumors of the existence of some as yet unrepr=
inted
> supernatural tales, if such stories exist and can stand shoulder to
> shoulder with such grim masterpieces as =E2=80=9CA Gallows Bird=E2=80=9D =
or any of the
> other twenty-two gems in this book, then chasing these rare tales down
> would be an effort amply rewarded. A reference work in my library cites
> several intriguing tales that are absent from this present volume,
> perhaps there are enough to comprise a companion volume=E2=80=A6 If such =
tales
> are few in number, it seems a shame to have not included them in this
> book, as there is certainly ample room for the inclusion of more
> stories. The Black Reaper weighs in at a healthy 227 pages, but such
> are the delights of Bernard Capes fiction that one will finish the book
> with a sense of disappointment that there isn=E2=80=99t any more=E2=80=A6
> And there you have it... Since this was written I've seen one copy of
> one of his original collections offered for sale, that's it; just one...
>=20
> John
>=20
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.


From the year 2022 I say hail to you and listening to a capes story now