Mrs. God: A NovelPeter Straub
Pegasus, February 2012
ISBN: 978-1605983042
From the New York Times bestselling author of Mystery, Shadowland, and The Talisman, the tale of an inspired literary sojourn that turns into something far more sinister.
Originally released in 1990 as a limited edition novella and then in 1991 as part of Straub's Houses Without Doors collection, Mrs. God is now available as a trade hardcover from Pegasus Crime.
American English professor William Standish has received the rare honor of a fellowship to study at Esswood House in England, home and estate of the Seneschal family. Which is the home of an incredible library of both published and non published works. For a period of three weeks he will have access to Esswood's famous library and the private papers of Isobel Standish, a former guest, forgotten poet, and distant relative. He flies to England and checks into the house, but not before learning "there is supposed to be a secret." Once there, he finds himself in disorienting surroundings, surrounded by ephemeral characters. Readers follow Standish’s descent into madness as the story unfolds.
The whole place, Standish muses, is "a treasure house. Manuscripts of unknown works by some of the century’s greatest writers, early handwritten drafts of famous poems and novels! It was like coming on a warehouse full of unknown paintings by Matisse, Cezanne and Picasso." Straub seeks to authenticate Esswood as an illustrious literary bolt-hole by having real writers as past guests. Apparently D. H. Lawrence, T. S. Eliot, and Henry James went on to produce their masterpieces after their stay.
Standish spends his days studying countless texts, and his nights eating alone in the vast dining room. He continually hears laughter and sees things moving in the shadows, but is never sure if it's real or an after-effect of the wine and whiskey. Esswood’s dread secrets begin to surface as Standish starts to disassemble. He had thought to "understand what Isobel had written even more than Isobel understood it" and now knows that her work can never be understood except as clues to the terrible truths of Esswood.
Straub's work is always bold and imaginative, and seems to cross the boundary between horror and classic literature. He uses his well-esteemed finesse brilliantly in portraying the ulterior currents in not only the house, but also within Standish's mind. Standish's descent into madness is brilliantly doccumented, and makes for riveting reading.
PETER STRAUB is the New York Times bestselling author of seventeen novels. His two collaborations with Stephen King, The Talisman and Black House, were international bestsellers. In 2006, he was given the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award. Peter and his wife live in New York City.
ISBN: 978-1605983042; ISBN10: 1605983047; Imprint: Pegasus; On Sale: 2/15/2012; Format: Hardcover; Pages: 208; $23.95
