The latest novel I’m reviewing as
part of my Neo-Victorian Voices series, on works of fiction set in the
nineteenth century, but written in the twenty-first, is Kris Waldherr’s The Lost History of Dreams, which came
out earlier this year.
Waldherr’s debut work of fiction
will delight fans of Victorian Gothic. There’s a brooding poet, who spends most
of the novel in a coffin, as his fans and relatives argue over where he should
be laid to rest. Our protagonist is a post-mortem photographer who’s haunted by
the ghost of his wife. And the wider cast includes women who are all afflicted
by something—be that grief, madness, consumption, or preternaturally white
hair.
The settings are also well wrought,
adding to the oppressive mood. Yes, there’s a creepy mansion, with an abandoned
wing. There are rooms so gloomy our main character can’t see whom he’s speaking
to. And you can’t get much darker than a hovel in the Black Forest, where some
of our characters end up. Even a chapel constructed entirely of glass and the
English seaside get a Gothic makeover. This is a novel with a consistent
aesthetic and this is the focus on every page.
Kris Waldherr |
It’s a little harder to connect
with the characters. Robert Highstead, the main character, has a tragic
backstory in the loss of his wife and an academic interest in Ovid, but it’s
hard to describe his personality otherwise. He’s reduced to more of a frame narrator
type (think Wuthering Heights or Lady Audley’s Secret) with Isabelle, the
teller of the story-within-the-story about the poet and his wife, stealing the
show. This is a novel that gives more nuance to its women than the men. The
poet, Hugh de Bonne, for instance, comes off as your standard-issue Gothic
villain, despite the devotion he inspires in his loyal followers.
Still, if you’re looking for a
great Halloween read, look no further. “All love
stories are ghost stories in disguise,” Waldherr tells us, and you’ll find few historical novels
this year that are better costumed.
What novel should the
Secret Victorianist read next as part of my Neo-Victorian Voices series? Let me
know—here, on Facebook or by tweeting @SVictorianist.