Beauty's Hour: A Phantasy
by Olivia Shakespear
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"'Then something unforeseen happened: my reflected face grew blurred, and then faded out; and from the mist there grew a new face, of wonderful beauty; the face of my desire. It looked at me from the glass, and when I tried to speak, its lips moved too. Miss Whateley uttered a sound that was hardly a cry, and caught me by the shoulder. I got up then and faced her; she was white as death, and her eyes were almost vacant with terror.'" Olivia Shakespear (1863-1938) is best known today as the show more mistress and longtime friend of the Irish poet William Butler Yeats, but she was also an important - if now neglected - author in her own right. "Beauty's Hour" (1896), originally serialized in The Savoy and never before reprinted, is the story of Mary Gower, a young woman who is intelligent, charming, and witty - but too 'plain' to be noticed by the handsome Gerald Harman. Until she discovers that she possesses the ability to transform her physical appearance using only the force of her will. Now, as the beautiful Mary Hatherley, she will command the attention of all and can have any man she chooses. But will her terrifying power lead to unforeseen and terrible consequences? A fascinating rediscovered Victorian text, Shakespear's novella deserves a place alongside such works as "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" and "The Picture of Dorian Gray." This edition features a new introduction and notes by Anne Margaret Daniel. show lessTags
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- La hora de la belleza
- Original title
- Beauty's Hour
- Original publication date
- 1896
- People/Characters
- Mary Gower [Beauty's Hour]; Gerald Harman; Miss Whateley; Clara Harman; Betty Harman; Bella Sturgis (show all 8); Lady Harman; Dr. Trefusis [Beauty's Hour]
- First words
- I remember very well the first time the strange thing happened to me: on a winter's day in January.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"O face of my dreams," I said, "it is well that you should go back into nothingness; your hour is over; each moment held a possible joy; a surer pain: a brief triumph; a long regret. Let me decline into the lesser ways of life, where Beauty's flying feet have never passed; but where Peace may be seen stealing, a shadowy figure, with eyes looking towards the sun."
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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