This is an anthology of eerie stories aimed at younger readers. The two stories in the fairy tale vein, Madame d’Aulnoy’s “The Yellow Dwarf” and Mrs. Gaskell’s “Curious If True,” seem misplaced in this collection. Otherwise, the tales are for the most part entertaining albeit on the mild side. The standouts are Shirley Jackson’s “One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts,” a sly take on the source of good and evil in the world; E. Nesbit’s matrimonial ghost story “John Charrington’s Wedding”; and Edna St. Vincent Millay’s surprising and somewhat shocking story of loneliness, love, and loss, “The Murder in the Fishing Cat.” ( )

This book is not only a collection of short stories, but also gives a short description of the women and the time period that created them. The majority of the women wrote these stories in a time when it was frowned upon for women to do such things because it was thought that she might start to get ideas, so the fact that the fact that they braved the ridicule and wrote any way should be commended. It opened the door for women, such as myself, who are following their souls and writing today.

As for the stories themselves, they were a bit predictable, story ideas that have been done over and over since these were first written. That being said, I still enjoyed them, in particular Shirley Jackson's piece. ( )