Edith Olivier

Edith Olivier (1872-1948), though chiefly remembered for her fantasy masterpiece The Love Child (1927), was also the author of a number of other works, including three horror stories, written in 1934-1935, which are gathered together here for the first time. These fine British tales of terror, uneasy, ghastly, and sometimes even gruesome, mark Olivier, despite her limited output, as one of the genre's unsung adepts.

'She had saved her. But at what a cost! Her position, her name, her character - she had given them all, but Clarissa was hers.' Upon the death of her mother, Agatha Bodenham finds herself alone for the first time in her life. Solitary and socially awkward by nature, she starts to dream about her imaginary childhood friend - the only friend she ever had. Much to her surprise, Clarissa starts to appear, fleetingly at first, and engage with her, and eventually becomes visible to everyone else. Agatha, a 32-year- old spinster, must explain the child's 'sudden' appearance. In a moment of panic, she pretends that Clarissa is her own daughter, her love child. Olivier constructs a mother/daughter relationship which is both poignant and playful. As the years roll by and Clarissa grows into a beautiful young woman, Agatha's love becomes increasingly obsessive as she senses Clarissa slipping away, attracted by new interests and people her own age.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Edith Olivier offers us a short novel in which the protagonist starts looking for a mirror to talk to without fear or prejudice and ends up building a parallel existence capable of answering questions as she herself has not been able to do. This novel is part dark fairy tale and part psychological novel.