I’m going to keep this short (and hopefully error-free) because it’s late and have some other things to  do. But I can’t let July 24 pass without mentioning four people, three writers and an artist, who deserve to be remembered.

E. F. Benson (1867 – 1940) was one of three brothers who wrote ghost stories in the late eighteen hundreds and early nnineteen hundreds. He was by far the most prolific of the three.

If you like the traditional english ghost story, Benson is your man. In my opinion, he was only surpassed by M. R. James and H. Russell Wakefield.

Ash-Tree Press published a four volume set of his stories. It was nearly complete, but I think one or two stories that weren’t collected have been publsihed since.

Because his work is in the public domain, inexpensive collections are easy to obtain.

Lord Dunsany (1878-1957) casts a long shadow over the field of fantasy. Much admired by H. P. Lovecraft, much of his work is very short.

His short stories can be broadly categorized in two series, although series isn’t necessarily the best word for the Pegana tales. These concern an imaginary land.

The other series revolves around a man named Jorkens. These are club stories. For those who might not be familiar  with the form, it’s primarily a Bristish style of writing. Club stories can be of a fantastical nature, but they don’t have to be. P. G. Wodehouse wrote some that fall in the latter category. In a club story, there is usually a punchline or some twist at the end. Larry Niven’s Draco Tavern stories are a sceince fiction example. Other examples include De Cammp and Pratt’s Gavagan’s Bar stories and ARthur C. Clarke’s White Hart.

Dunsany didn’t write many novels, but of the few he did, The King of Elfland’s Daughter stands out as a minor classic in the field. One of the interesting things about it is that it was written before The Lord of the Rings. It has a totally different tone and feel than comtemoporary fantasy.  It’s short and worth a read.

John D. MacDonald (1916-1986) wrote some science fiction, but he made his name in mystery. These days, he’s best remembered for the Travis McGee series, but some of his best work was in stand alones.

He’s one of my favorite writers from the middle of the previous century. Most of his novels were short by today’s standards. This was typical of Gold Medal books, which was what most of them were. His books aren’t hard to find, and so far, they haven’t been bought up by collectors. He’s another writer I come back to, just to study what he did and how he did it.

MacDonald put a lot of philosophy in his books, and not all of it has aged well. I don’t care. I’m still going to  keep reading him.

Finally, the aritst Lee Brown Coye (1907-1981) did a number of covers and interior illustrations for Weird Tales. He moved on to books after the pulps died. His work is often associated with Manly Wade Wellman. Coye often put sticks in his work. Karl Edward Wagner asked him about the sticks. His answer inspired Wagner to write the classic horror tale “Sticks”. Here are some samples of Coye’s work.