There is a richness of birthdays today, July 24. E. F. Benson (1867-1940), Lord Dunsany (1878-1957), and Lee Brown Coye (1907-1981) were all born on this date.
E. F. Benson
Edward Frederick Benson is remembered for the Mapp and Lucia novels, the film adaptions of which were shown on PBS here in the States. But those with discerning taste, know his real contribution to the world of literature were his ghost stories.
“And No Bird Sings” concerns a man who goes to visit some friends who have recently inherited a mansion and surrounding lands in the country. On the land is a wooded area in which no bird sings, the light is always dim in the clearing in the center, and the dogs refuse to enter. This was a nice variation on the vampire, although you’ll find no undead resting in coffins.
“And No Birds Sings” is a ghost story very much in the classic English tradition. It’s not as well-known as some of Benson’s other works, but it’s worth reading.
Lord Dunsany
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany, better known to fans of the fantastic tale as Lord Dunsany, wrote mostly at short (sometimes very short) lengths, although his novel The King of Elfland’s Daughter is a classic fantasy novel. “The Quest of the Queen’s Tears” is a brief tale of a king who is trying to court the most beautiful and eligible queen in the world. She is not interested in any of her suitors. The king undergoes a quest to bring the queen to tears, believing if she can cry, she can love.
Dunsany set many of his stories in the imaginary world of Pegana. His other major series was a sequence of stories about a chap named Jorkens. These are very much in the club or bar story, where the narrator is telling a tale that must be taken with a giant grain of salt.
Lee Brown Coye was an artist. The most distinguishing thing about much of his work were sticks tied together in the background. The story goes that Karl Edward Wagner asked him about this feature. The story Coye told became the inspiration for Wagner’s story “Sticks.”Not sure if that’s true, but it’s a good story. Here is some of his work.
