The Grey Chamber: Stories and Essays

British author Gabrielle Margaret Vere Campbell Long (1885–1952), best known under her Bowen pseudonym, well merits this thoughtfully curated collection from Tibbetts (The Furies of Marjorie Bowen). The 18 short stories display Bowen’s range, from classic literary horror to humorous romance, and all feature well-developed characters and evocative prose. “Florence Flannery,” about a new bride who learns her spouse has brought her to live in a home with a grim history, cleverly telegraphs its bleak denouement for the careful reader. The oppressive, claustrophobic, and paranoid tone of that entry couldn’t be more different from the lightly satirical “The World’s Gear.” That story focuses on Adrian Quin, a writer who achieved a bestselling breakthrough with a novel about a man who flees female suitors to live in seclusion; the overwhelming attention that Quin’s book brought him forces him to take extreme measures as well. M.R. James fans will especially appreciate “The Crown Derby Plate,” a ghost story about a woman’s obsession with the absence of one plate from her China collection. A second such volume would be welcome. (Dec.)