The Great Return

Machen, Arthur, 1863-1947Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 77K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Great Return by Arthur MachenAuthor: Machen, Arthur, 1863-1947,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Mar 18, 2011

Editor's review

The Great Return is a novella of weird fiction by Arthur Machen, grounded in Welsh rural legend and telling how a vision like the manifestation of the Holy Grail seeps into ordinary village life, its atmosphere rising from rumour to solemnity and closing in an awe that words cannot quite name. Machen excels at handling the supernatural with a restrained touch; this book does not rely on shocks but builds mystery through layered scenery, dialogue and hearsay, making it a fitting entry point for understanding his style of "the strange within the everyday." It is short, suitable as a selected reading for a course on British weird literature and for readers interested in the Holy Grail legend, local belief and early twentieth-century fantasy literature. There is no need to hurry toward solving whether the visions are true; noting how the narrator weaves local oral accounts and religious imagery into atmosphere will better convey its appeal.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy British weird and supernatural literature
Those interested in the Holy Grail legend and themes of local belief
Students studying the style of early twentieth-century fantasy literature
Newcomers who wish to enter Machen's work through a short piece

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting intense horror scenes and fast-paced plotting
Mystery fans who prefer explicit explanations of supernatural phenomena
Purely realistic readers with no interest in religious and legendary imagery

Reading tips

Read it in one sitting to keep the atmosphere continuous and avoid frequent interruptions.
Knowing a little about the Holy Grail legend beforehand helps in understanding the vision descriptions.
Note the difference between the narrator's voice and the villagers', and feel how hearsay is retold.
After reading, compare it with other weird works by Machen to compare their methods of building atmosphere.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a horror novel?

It is closer to weird and mysterious literature. It creates an atmosphere in which awe and suspense intertwine, rather than horror dominated by gore or shocks. If you expect intense horror scenes, you may find it slow-paced with much left unsaid.

Do I need to know the Holy Grail legend first?

Not in depth, but a basic sense of the Holy Grail's imagery will make it easier to enter the text. The visions in the book intertextually echo religious legend; it can be read without that background, but the sense of solemnity will be diminished.

What kind of reading schedule suits its length?

It is a work of novella scale, suited to being read in one or two evenings. The atmosphere depends on continuity, and fragmented reading tends to weaken the accumulation of suspense, so set aside a block of time.

Comments

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About the author

Machen, Arthur, 1863-1947 Author

Arthur Machen (1863–1947) was a British writer known for his fantasy, horror and supernatural fiction. Ten of his works are included here, among them The Great God Pan, The Three Impostors or, The Transmutations, The Hill of Dreams, The House of Souls, The Terror: A Mystery, The Secret Glory, Far Off Things and The Angels of Mons: The Bowmen and Other Legends of the War. His writing often draws on the Welsh countryside, ancient legend and pagan survivals, quietly introducing supernatural forces into ordinary settings and creating a restrained yet lasting sense of psychological dread. He is regarded as an important forerunner of modern horror literature, and his style relies on atmosphere and suggestion rather than explicit violence. The story The Bowmen also gave rise to a widely circulated social legend. Public information is limited, so details of his life are not elaborated here.