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The shadow of Ashlydyat appeared in instalments in the New Monthly Magazine from September 1861 to 1863. The story of the decline of a family, dishonesty and disaster, has a supernatural element, involving the local legend of a mysterious shadow, and a family curse. Unlike others of Mrs. Henry Wood's stories in which "ghosts" and "appearances" are eventually given a prosaic explanation, The shadow of Ashlydyat is a genuine ghost story.
Geographically, the story is based in Mrs. Henry Wood's native Worcestershire, and the town Prior's Ash is reportedly modelled on Bromsgrove. Perhaps this is why the topography of the neighbourhood is more detailed and vivid than in many of her other novels.
A sample chapter of The shadow of Ashlydyat is available on this website.
The full text can also be read online or downloaded free of charge. It is in XHTML format, like this page. Please note the file size is 1449kb and it may take some time to open-up if you choose to read it online. Downloading for reading later may be the preferred option and this can be typically achieved by calling up an option box. If you have a mouse and it is configured for left click to select, right clicking the link may give you this option. Link to the full text of The shadow of Ashlydyat.
While the supernatural is obviously an important element in the plot--the shadow itself, the family curse, mysterious and unexplained eerie noises, a dead man apparently coming to life again--the characters and behaviour of the various members of the Godolphin family are what drive the story along. The contrast between the virtuous Thomas and the charming but fallible George and Thomas, and between Maria and Charlotte provide tension and suspense. In fact, the spirited and unscrupulous Charlotte Pain is unusually allowed to end the novel unrepentant and unreformed.
For a ghost story, the tone is remarkably unsensational: the first appearance of the shadow, quite matter-of-factly described, probably surprises the reader as much as it does Thomas Godolphin. The overall mood of the novel is one of melancholy and sadness--there are numerous death-beds, of both old and young, and there is no happy ending. The family curse of the Godolphins is a powerful one.
Page created 21 November 2002 and last
updated 17 December 2002
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