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leads
Ambrose to reveal a mysterious Green Book he possesses. It is a young girl's diary, in which she describes in ingenuous, evocative prose her strange impressions of the countryside in which she lives as well as conversations with her nurse, who initiates her into a secret world of folklore and
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Powerful and sovereign medicines, which are, of necessity, virulent poisons also, are kept in a locked cabinet. The child may find the key by chance, and drink herself dead; but in most cases the search is educational, and the phials contain precious elixirs for him who has patiently fashioned the
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has called the diary "a masterpiece of indirection, a
Lovecraft plot told by James Joyce", and H. P. Lovecraft himself wrote that "Machen's narrative, a triumph of skilful selectiveness and restraint, accumulates enormous power as it flows on in a stream of innocent childish prattle".
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182:(1924). Machen had read widely in mystical literature and folklore ever since an early employer had set him to work cataloguing occult books, and his learning gave his tale a depth and verisimilitude unusual in such works.
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has stated: "If I were to list the greatest supernatural short stories of all time, I would start with Arthur Machen’s 'The White People,' about a young girl’s unknowing initiation into an ancient, otherworldly cult."
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221:". Some of the strange words and names in the Green Book are actual occult terms, but most were invented by Machen for the story. Of these, some would be picked up by later authors of
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The story has since been described as an important example of horror fiction, and even as one of the greatest horror stories of all time, influencing generations of later writers.
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The story was written in the late 1890s as part of Machen's struggle to find a direction for a projected novel, other outgrowths of which were published as the novella
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wrote that the narrative in the Green Book "is probably the finest single supernatural story of the century, perhaps in the literature", and
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643:"The Shock of the Numinous: Arthur Machen's 'The White People'" at the Weird Review
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black magic. Throughout, the girl makes cryptic allusions to such topics as "
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letters", the "Xu" and "Chian" languages, "Mao games", and a game called "
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The story has frequently been reprinted, and scholars and devotees of
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118:. Written in the late 1890s, it was first published in 1904 in
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A discussion between
Ambrose and Cotgrave on the nature of
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stories. The story has also served as the inspiration for
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tradition and is similar to the use of such documents by
598:"Stories Within Stories Keep 'The Twisted Ones' Turning"
335:"An Introduction to the Life and Work of Arthur Machen"
552:(1984) which draws on Machen's 'The White People'."
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Arthur Machen: A Short
Account of His Life and Work
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Mazes and
Labyrinths: Their History and Development
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694:Works originally published in literary magazines
689:Works originally published in British magazines
568:. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press.
268:and may have been an influence on the plot of
540:. Bridgend, Wales: Seren Publishing. p. 136.
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639:— "The White People" as a free etext
403:Reynolds, Aidan; William Charlton (1963).
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237:often cite it as a classic of the genre.
126:, then reprinted in Machen's collection
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288:) is a contemporary take on the story.
178:) and as the collection of prose poems
461:. Kent, Ohio: Kent State UP. p.
407:. London: Richards Press. p. 77.
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367:. New York: Dover. pp. 156–163.
508:. Austin: U of Texas P. p. 22.
476:Dirda, Michael (21 February 2018).
333:Cooke, Simon (10 September 2022).
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521:Supernatural Horror in Literature
457:The Guide to Supernatural Fiction
429:"Faeries in Machen and Lovecraft"
62:Grant Richards (book publication)
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596:Heller, Jason (3 October 2019).
427:Prowse, Jae (21 November 2020).
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185:The use of the Green Book as a
523:. New York: Dover. p. 91.
1:
417:Reynolds and Charlton, p. 21.
565:Little Book of Welsh Culture
122:, edited by Machen's friend
114:short story by Welsh author
60:J & W Horlick's (serial)
16:Short story by Arthur Machen
657:public domain audiobook at
361:"The Dance or Game of Troy"
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519:Lovecraft, H. P. (1973) .
359:Matthews, W. H. (1970) .
453:Bleiler, E. F. (1983).
378:Machen, Arthur (1906).
229:Reception and influence
709:Works by Arthur Machen
704:Anglo-Welsh literature
679:British short stories
548:. "...T.E.D. Klein's
504:Joshi, S. T. (1990).
699:Welsh horror fiction
684:Horror short stories
235:supernatural fiction
562:Rees, Mark (2016).
483:The Washington Post
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674:1904 short stories
627:The House of Souls
381:The House of Souls
284:by T. Kingfisher (
270:Guillermo del Toro
219:The Dunwich Horror
176:The House of Souls
172:A Fragment of Life
128:The House of Souls
120:Horlick's Magazine
632:Project Gutenberg
339:The Victorian Web
278:. The 2019 novel
189:has roots in the
180:Ornaments in Jade
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74:1906 (book)
668:Categories
607:14 October
384:. p.
320:References
166:Background
160:witchcraft
433:Horrified
314:Caerdroia
262:'s novel
156:Troy Town
98:Hardcover
57:Publisher
659:LibriVox
637:Gaslight
536:(1995).
489:19 March
292:See also
272:'s film
137:Synopsis
130:(1906).
37:Language
602:NPR.org
581:25 June
438:8 March
344:8 March
203:and to
200:Dracula
110:" is a
92:Print (
41:English
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191:Gothic
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112:horror
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51:Horror
27:Author
83:Wales
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609:2019
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491:2018
440:2024
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