The Classic Ghost Stories Collection: Chilling Tales from Guy de Maupassant, M. R. James, Edith Wharton, E. F. Benson, Sheridan Le Fanu, Henry James - Hardcover

The French writer Guy de Maupassant (1850-93), a protégé of Flaubert, was known for his hugely influential short stories and the vivid realism of his novels. He was born in Normandy and served in the Franco-Prussian War, which would become the subject of some of his best-known stories. Maupassant wrote six novels and nearly three hundred stories, among them "The Necklace," "Boule de Suif," "The Horla," and "Mademoiselle Fifi." His financial and critical success as a writer made him a prominent figure in fashionable society, but in his last few years he suffered mental and physical symptoms of the syphilis he had contracted in his early years. After a suicide attempt in 1892 he was committed to a private asylum, where he died the following year at the age of 42.

M. R. James (1862-1936) was an English author and a medievalist scholar. He was the provost of King's College, Cambridge from 1905 to 1918, and of Eton College from 1918 to 1936. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1913-15. Though James's scholarly work is still highly regarded, he is best remembered for his ghost stories, which redefined the genre for the 20th century.

Edith Wharton (1862­-1937) was a brilliant American writer known for such works as The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome. She became the first woman to win a Pulitzer when she was awarded the 1921 Prize for her novel The Age of Innocence. A member of the New York elite, Wharton funneled her experiences into vivid portrayals and critiques of high society, while deftly exposing the painful tension between personal desires and societal norms. Wharton died in Paris in 1937 at the age of 75, having written 85 short stories, 16 novels, 11 works of nonfiction, and 3 books of poetry.