Marjorie Bowen

An antique collector hears of an ancient woman with a large collection of china. Hoping to complete a particular set, the collector pays a visit to the woman's ramshackle house, where she makes a terrifying discovery. This 1933 story confirmed Marjorie Bowen as one of our best ghost story writers.

Marjorie Bowen: Selective Works By Marjorie Bowen The Follies of Youth Jacqueline: A Story of the French Revolution A Moment's Madness Lovers' Knots The Viper of Milan Ferriby

Marjorie Bowen (pseudonym of Mrs Gabrielle Margaret Campbell) (1 November 1885 - 23 December 1952) was a British author who wrote historical romances, supernatural horror stories, popular history and biography. Her total output numbers over 150 volumes with the bulk of her work under the 'Bowen' pseudonym. She also wrote under the names Joseph Shearing, George R. Preedy, John Winch, Robert Paye and Margaret Campbell. After The Viper of Milan (1906), she produced a steady stream of writings until the day of her death. Bowen also wrote history books aimed at a popular readership.

Black Magic begins with this ominous first line: 'In the large room of a house in a certain quiet city in Flanders, a man was guilding a devil'. That person is Dirk Renswoude, a craftsman and loner of noble birth who has been mistreated in some unspecified way by his family. He meets Thierry, a young scholar on his way to study at the university at Basle and they soon discover that they have a shared fascination with the black arts. However, Thierry is initially cautious and afraid of blasphemy, whilst Dirk is ambitious to be "as great as the Master we serve can make his followers" and thirst for power. Dirk leads them on to experiments with mystic circles drawn on the floor in chalk, the chanting of arcane incantations and the evocation of grotesque, demonic visions writhing in the speculum. Thierry still wavers, but when their experiments lead to murder the die is cast for both of them. One of the best gothic novels ever written!