The Radiant Boy
Collingwood, E., (2010), The Radiant Boy ~ Four Ghost Stories from the Age of Sail, The Penny, Dreadful & Tarbottom Series, Books on Demand.
I read Emma Collingwood's The Radiant Boy ~ Four Ghost Stories from the Age of Sail last week while traveling and I have to say I thought it was a charming little book. The stories are perfectly painted little miniatures and they each set their various scenes perfectly and concisely. All four tales are quite different in character but most of the ghosts that appear here are benign or even benevolent. The first story, "The Radiant Boy", is really very touching and I have to confess it moved me shed a tear at the end. Which is no mean feat considering I was on a 7am commuter flight to Birmingham at the time. Not the best environment for conjuring an atmosphere! The final tale "Last Service" is also lovely, it's funny and affectionate and clever all at the same time.
The thing that I enjoyed the most about this book though is the way it's presented; from the curse at the beginning, the "Young Bucks" vignettes that link the stories and Amandine de Villeneuve gorgeous illustrations, to the clever epilogue and funny and informative "Notes for the Curious" at the end. The whole book is a perfect little gem.
One peculiarity...I have a recording of the author reading one of these stories, which nodbear and I won in a charity auction last year. When I read the book I found it was the author's voice I was "hearing" rather than my own reading voice. I don't think I've ever experienced this before and it definitely added to the supernatural nature of these tales!