Creepy British Book Illustrations
Shaenon: Thing I’ve been doing lately: reading novels about creepy old-time British stuff and drawing illustrations for them. Here we have Ghost Wall (above) by Sarah Moss, Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner, Red Shift by Alan Garner, Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, and Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns, all very good books.
Channing: These illustrations are all creepy A.F. Good job, Shaenon! As for the stories, I’ve read none of them, but Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead is like the creepiest title I’ve ever seen.
Dagnabbit, now I want a literary version of Horror Every Day!
Alas, I think the only one of those I’ve read is “Red Shift,” and I’m none too sure of that.
Oh man, *Riddley Walker* is essential reading for anyone who likes speculative fiction, great literature, the possibilities of the English language, chillingly believable post-apocalyptica, great storytelling, and engaging protagonists. The story begins:
“On my naming day when I come 12 I gone front spear and kilt a wyld boar he parbly ben the las wyld pig on the Bundel Downs any how there hadnt ben none for a long time befor him nor I aint looking to see none agen. He dint make the groun shake nor nothing like that when he come on to my spear he wernt all that big plus he lookit poorly. He done the reqwyrt he ternt and stood and clattert his teef and made his rush and there we were then. Him on 1 end of the spear kicking his life out and me on the other watching him dy. I said ‘Your tern now and my tern later.’ The other spears gone in him then and he were dead and the steam coming of him in the rain and we all yellt, ‘Offert!’
“The woal thing fealt jus that little bit stupid. …”
Sum tyms bytin, sum tyms bit.
After I took my first physics class in high school, I decided I wanted to be a physicist. When I told my family, my father insisted I read Riddley Walker. I’ve got my PhD now, and I’ve yet to make the 1 Big 1, but I’ll do my best to stay away from Mr. Clevver!
I haven’t read any of these, although I’ve read some Garner. I will definitely try to check them out, although I’m really bad at reading spooky stuff.
As the guy with the Gaelic spelling in his handle, I have to throw a shout out to the Ogham script in the Red Shift picture.
Thanks… it’s not entirely appropriate, since Red Shift is set in England rather than Ireland, but I love Ogham.
Ogham is also found in various parts of England (mostly Devon and Cornwall and points near Ireland, obviously) — so I’d say it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility to have it in Cheshire too. So it’s legit! You researched better than you knew 🙂
Alan Garner is sadly neglected these days, it seems. Both The Moonstone of Brisingamen and The Owl Service are fantasy novels of sheer unmatched brilliance. (His other novels are excellent too, but I think you just can’t touch those two.) I also am very fond of his Stone Book Quartet – nothing of the fantastic about it, just a quiet deep look at 4 different generations of rural England.
I love Riddley Walker! These days, I’ve been collecting dystopian novels, and it’s a centerpiece of my collection.
My brain read that as The Spy Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead, which I’d look for on interlibrary loan! And since I run ILL at the university….
The witch and the demon goat look more charming than creepy to me, but then I’m a touch weird…
The great thing about Riddley Walker is that it’s by the same Russell Hoban as Bread and Jam for Frances &c. (Well, it’s great if you had the latter when you were little.)
I don’t think I ever read Red Shift. I know I read The Moon of Gomrath, The Owl Service, and I think Elidor. Maybe I should reread them all.