Failed father, failed husband, and failed scholar, Charles hopes to put his life back together with a biography of Caedmon Hollow, the long-dead author of a legendary Victorian children's book, In the Night Wood. But soon after settling into Hollow's remote Yorkshire home, Charles learns that the past isn't dead. Dale Bailey DALE BAILEY is the author of eight books, including In the Night Wood, The End of the End of Everything, and The Subterranean Season.
His story "Death and Suffrage" was adapted for Showtime's Masters of Horror television series. In the Night Wood is an ingeniously written Gothic horror novel by Dale Bailey, which serves as both a tribute to classic Gothic literature and a unique, riveting story in its own right. A collection of reviews, comments, and praise of Dale Bailey's 2018 novel "In The Night Wood" from the speculative fiction community.
- Karen Joy Fowler "In the Night Wood begins with a tragic loss and quickly develops into a mystery involving an estate, the history of the forest surrounding it, and a strange book written by the estate's former owner. The mystery is compelling but the heart of Dale Bailey's latest novel is the damaged relationship between grieving parents. Charles Hayden has been fascinated by a strange Victorian fairy tale, In the Night Wood, since he was a child.
When his wife, Erin - a descendant of the author - inherits her ancestor's house, the couple decide to make it their home. Still mourning the recent death of their daughter, they leave America behind, seeking a new beginning in the English countryside. Bailey's (The Subterranean Season, 2015, etc.) novel has every aspect of gothic horror: the drafty manor, the shady servants, the tortured protagonists.
The writing is dense with allusions and details, the narrative twisting and turning in the same way the Night Wood distorts the senses of anyone who wanders into it. Failed father, failed husband, and failed scholar, Charles hopes to put his life back together with a biography of Christopher Hollow, the long-dead author of a legendary Victorian children's book, In the Night Wood. But soon after settling into Hollow's remote Yorkshire home, Charles learns that the past isn't dead.
It is beautiful, heartbreaking, and inspiring. Once again, Dale Bailey proves he's among the best writers we have." -Nathan Ballingrud, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of North American Lake Monsters "In the Night Wood is a wonder: literary, intriguingly supernatural, and all too human.
