From The Watcher by the Threshold: I have told this story to many audiences with diverse results, and once again I take my reputation in my hands and brave the perils. To the common circle of my friends it was a romance for a winter's fire, and I, the most prosaic of men, was credited with a fancy. . . . One man only heard me with true appreciation; but he was a wandering spirit with an ear open to marvels, and I hesitate to advance his security. He received it simply, saying that God was great, and I cannot improve upon his comment. Thus begins Buchan's unnerving tale of terror at the edge of the Scottish Highlands. Buchan - a man more remembered for mysteries and war stories - was a real hand with horror, and this 1902 compilation displays his facility nicely.
From The Watcher by the Threshold: I have told this story to many audiences with diverse results, and once again I take my reputation in my hands and brave the perils. To the common circle of my friends it was a romance for a winter's fire, and I, the most prosaic of men, was credited with a fancy. . . . One man only heard me with true appreciation; but he was a wandering spirit with an ear open to marvels, and I hesitate to advance his security. He received it simply, saying that God was great, and I cannot improve upon his comment. Thus begins Buchan's unnerving tale of terror at the edge of the Scottish Highlands. Buchan - a man more remembered for mysteries and war stories - was a real hand with horror, and this 1902 compilation displays his facility nicely.
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The Watcher by the Threshold, and other tales is a collection of early novellas and stories, most with supernatural elements, by the Scottish author John Buchan. When first published in the UK in 1902 the collection included five stories, mainly set in the Scottish Borders. The collection was republished for the US market in 1918 under the title The Watcher by the Threshold, with four of the original stories and four new ones. The book's epigraph is a quotation said to be an "Extract from the writings of Donisarius of Padua, circa 1310." It contrasts active travellers who "tarry in the outer courts, speeding the days joyfully with dance and song" with those who remain near to home and who "are found watching by the threshold" night and day, "ever anxious and ill at ease that they may see something of the Shadows which come and go." On the collection's first publication, The Bookman noted that Buchan's intention is not a cheerful one for it is the "back-world of Scotland" that he describes, a land of old terrors, ancient cruelties and inhuman paganism. The reviewer thought it a book to shudder over, but one through which runs veins of real beauty. Writing in 1975, David Daniell noted that the collection contains much material that Buchan will later return to in greater depth: "The Outgoing of the Tide" points to Witch Wood, and "The Watcher by the Threshold" and "No Man's Land" point to The Dancing Floor. "No Man's Land" Daniell considered to be a fascinating novella in which the author develops the sense of desolate threat felt in the remote Scottish hills, using the idea of the survival of a group of Picts as one more illustration of the ancient texture of the landscape. The novella predatesThe Lost World (1912) and Daniell considered it to surpass Conan Doyle and even H. G. Wells in its analysis of the hero's psychology. Buchan's biographer Andrew Lownie noted the development in "Fountainblue" of several of Buchan's themes: the power of a place extending over a long period, the thin line of civilization, and the existence within individuals of hidden depths of character. (wikipedia.org)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ The Watcher By The Threshold John Buchan George H. Doran, 1918 Fiction in English; Scottish fiction
