989 Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh, by J. S. LeFanu (read 22 Dec 1968) This book has good moments, but also moves slowly and pointlessly at times. Written about 1865, I think it sounds like it. It has some moments. For instance: "Well, one room more - just that whose deepset door fronted me, with a melancholy frown, at the opposite end of the chamber. So to it I glided, shoved it open, advancing one step, and the great bony figure of Madame de la Rougierre was before me." I may read other LeFanu stories: but not his novels, if this is his best. ( )

Leisurely horror story, first published in 1864. Uncle Silas doesn't appear in the flesh until page 200, but we know his story by then. The younger son of an ancient family, the dissolute Silas gambled away his inheritance. A gambler and money lender was found with his throat cut and Silas was accused of his death.

The heroine is the daughter of Silas's older brother Austin, the eccentric and reclusive heir to the family fortune. Austin has always believed in his brother's innocence and stakes his daughter's future on proving it.

An early psychological novel and possibly the first locked room mystery, Uncle Silas is an entertaining and interesting read. ( )

Silas Rutvyn is something of a riddle. To some, including his niece, he is something of a ghost. As Le Fanu gradually unfolds the layers of this story, we are irresistibly drawn into his world. There are, however, no simple answers.
From the writer of such works as Through a Glass Darkly, and The House by the Churchyard, this eerie and chilling tale is one of the finest examples of his art.

About the Author: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, the renowned gothic novelist, was born in Dublin in 1873. His vampire novella Carmella is known to have directly influenced Barm Stoker's Dracula, among others. Likewise, Le Fanu's A Chapter in the History of the Tyrone Family is thought to have been a source of inspiration for Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. It is, however, his tales of the supernatural for which he is best remembered. ( )

Probably my favorite of all of the Le Fanu novels. I first got interested in this author when, many years back, I saw this dramatized on PBS. Peter O'Toole played a very evil Uncle Silas.

Another Victorian gothic involving not so nice relatives, an evil governess and a damsel in distress. HIGHLY recommended! ( )