Fantastic Tales

In the field of supernatural and fantastic literature, certain names come readily to mind E.T.A. Hoffmann, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft but the name of Fitz-James OBrien has been unjustly overlooked and nearly forgotten since his premature death in 1862 during the American Civil War. The Diamond Lens, OBriens most famous short story, can be regarded as a forerunner of the science-fiction genre; What Was It? is alleged to have served as a model for H.G. Wellss The Invisible Man; and The Wondersmith is a marvellous tale of Hoffmannesque invention. Taken together, OBriens few surviving stories give him an important place in the development of American fiction and remain as fresh today as when they first written more than a hundred and fifty years ago. Contents: The Diamond Lens, The Lost Room, What Was It?, The Wondersmith, Seeing the World, The Pot of Tulips, The Dragon Fang possessed by the Conjurer Piou-Lou