Checkmate - Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan

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Résumé :
Checkmate (1871) is a novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Although less well-known than his more popular works of Gothic horror and mystery, including the vampire novella Carmilla (1872) and the novel The House by the Church-Yard (1863), Checkmate remains central to Le Fanu's legacy as an innovator whose literary works inspired Bram Stoker and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Walter Longcluse is a mysterious gentleman, a drifter and self-made man whose travels throughout France, Austria, and England resulted in his accumulation of an immense personal fortune. With his calm demeanor and general friendliness, he is quickly accepted into the inner circle of the Arden family, a clan of aristocrats whose once luxuriant star has lately dimmed due to unpaid debts and the murder of one of their number. As Longcluse courts the lovely Alice, her brother Richard enjoys the older man's company, and the two become fast friends. One night, however, a visit to a gambling club brings them face to face with Monsieur Lebas, a brutish figure who seems to recognize Longcluse and, later that evening, is discovered to have been murdered. As the story unfolds, clues planted discreetly throughout the plot lead to Le Fanu's thrilling conclusion, which contains a well-designed plot twist too sinister to imagine. Checkmate is a tale of wealth and betrayal, a novel that raises more questions than answers for the reader held under its spell. This edition of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's Checkmate is a classic of Irish literature reimagined for modern readers. Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book. With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe....

Biographie:
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was the leading Gothic horror writer during the nineteenth century. Born in Ireland in 1814, he grew up in a literary family and began writing for the Dublin University Magazine in 1838. He published his first ghost story, The Ghost and the Bone-Setter, in 1838. His most notable work, Carmilla, published in 1872, was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Le Fanu's other notable works include The House by the Churchyard (1863), Wylder's Hand (1864), Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh (1864), Guy Deverell (1865), and In a Glass Darkly (1871). Le Fanu is widely considered to be the father of the English ghost story. He died in 1873, one year after his most prolific work, Carmilla, was published. It is rumored that he died of fright....

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