This collections brings together the supernatural stories in Robert H. Benson's The Light Invisible and A Mirror of Shalott. Benson brings light fantasy and supernatural horror together, from the perspective of a Catholic priest. It is a fascinating twist on a popular genre by a very talented author. Fans of the ghost stories by M. R. James and E. G. Swain will find this a welcome addition to their library.

Robert Hugh Benson (1871 - 1914) was the youngest son of the Archbishop of Canterbury. After college Benson was ordained as a priest in the Church of England. While on a trip to the Middle East Benson began doubting the Church of England and eventually joined the Community of the Resurrection. In 1903 he became a Roman Catholic. In 1904 he was ordained as a priest. This is an account of a trip to the healing area known as Lourdes. The author describes his first sight of Lourdes "The first sign of sanctity that we saw, as we came out at the end of a street, was the mass of churches...

Robert Hugh Benson (1871 - 1914) was the youngest son of the Archbishop of Canterbury. After college Benson was ordained as a priest in the Church of England. While on a trip to the Middle East Benson began doubting the Church of England and eventually joined the Community of the Resurrection. In 1903 he became a Roman Catholic. In 1904 he was ordained as a priest. The King's Achievement

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The fourth of Robert Hugh Benson's "mainstream" novels, "An Average Man," first published in 1913, is a far from average production. The novel may well be Benson's finest achievement, ripping to shreds the assumptions on which Edwardian upper class society believed civilization itself was built. Worldly success destroys one "average man," while it presents another, afflicted with seemingly endless and crushing defeats, with the opportunity of practicing virtue of a heroic stature. This edition features a foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney.

The fifth of Robert Hugh Benson's "mainstream" novels, first published in 1914, "Initiation" relates a man's redemption, or initiation into his full humanity, through pain. The novel explores the different types of pain with which people are afflicted - spiritual, psychological, and physical - none of it deserved, yet all of it leading to greater self-awareness and understanding of what it means to be human. Despite the grimness of the theme, the novel is both entertaining and profound. This edition features a foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney.

The sixth and final of Robert Hugh Benson's "mainstream" novels, "Loneliness?" examines the life of a woman who sacrifices everything to be accepted by people who can see her only in terms of her singing ability and the roles she plays on the stage. She is abandoned by them when she can no longer fit into their preconceived ideas. Published posthumously in 1915, "Loneliness?" may be Benson's least known, yet one of his most insightful - and entertaining - novels. This edition features a foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney.

Mixing such seemingly incongruous elements as social satire, near-slapstick, and obsession with death, "A Winnowing," first published in 1910, is the first of Robert Hugh Benson's "mainstream novels." An undeservedly overlooked work today, the novel flays Edwardian society in terms that bring to mind the comedy of P. G. Wodehouse, and the black humor of Evelyn Waugh. The influence of "A Winnowing" is evident in Evelyn Waugh's take on the funeral industry in Southern California ("The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy"). This edition features a foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney.