Arthur Machen - Selected Works

Selected Works

In approximate order of composition, with date of publication:

• "The Great God Pan" (written 1890–1894; published 1894) — Novella. First published together with "The Inmost Light" as Volume V in John Lane's Keynotes Series.
• "The Inmost Light" (1894) — A scientist imprisons his wife's soul in a shining jewel, letting something else into her untenanted body, but the jewel is stolen.
• "The Shining Pyramid" (1895) — Strange arrangements of stones appear at the edge of a young man's property. He and a friend attempt to decipher their meaning before it is too late.
• The Three Impostors (1895) — A novel incorporating several short stories, including "The Novel of the White Powder" and "The Novel of the Black Seal". Centers on the search for a man with spectacles.
  • "The Novel of the Black Seal" — A precursor of H. P. Lovecraft in its subject matter—the protagonist gradually uncovers the secrets of a hidden pre- and non-human race hiding in the Welsh hills, and the true nature of a hybrid, idiot child fathered by one of them.
  • "The Novel of the White Powder" — A man's behavior takes a strange turn after he starts taking a new prescription. His sister doesn't know if this is a good thing or a bad one.
• "The Red Hand" (1895) — A story featuring the main characters from The Three Impostors. It focuses on a murder performed with an ancient stone axe.
• The Hill of Dreams (written 1895–1897; published 1907) — Novel.
• Ornaments in Jade (written 1897; published 1924) — Vignettes.
• "The White People" (written 1899; published 1904) — A young girl's diary, recounting tales told her by her nurse, and her increasingly deep delvings into magic. Often described as one of the greatest of all horror short stories. Very subtle in its telling.
• Hieroglyphics: A Note upon Ecstasy in Literature (written 1899; published 1902)
• The House of the Hidden Light (Written in 1904 with Arthur Edward Waite. Only 3 copies were published. Reprinted in an edition of 350 copies by Tartarus Press, 2003)
• The Secret Glory (written 1899–1908; published 1922) — A public school boy becomes fascinated by tales of the Holy Grail and escapes from his repressive school in search of a deeper meaning to life.
• "The Bowmen" (1914) — In this story, written and published during World War I, the ghosts of archers from the battle of Agincourt, led by Saint George, come to the aid of British troops. This is cited (by some at least) as the origin of the Angels of Mons legend.
• The Great Return (1915) — The Holy Grail returns to a Welsh village.
• The Terror (1917) — In wartime Britain, a series of unexplained murders occur with no sign of who or what is responsible.
• Far Off Things (1922) — First volume of autobiography.
• Things Near and Far (1923) — Second volume of autobiography.
• The London Adventure (1924) — Third and final volume of autobiography.
• The Canning Wonder (1925) — Non-fiction study of the eighteenth-century mystery of the disappearance of Elizabeth Canning. Machen concludes that Canning was lying about some or all of her exploits.
• Dreads and Drolls (1926) — Essays.
• The Green Round (1933) — Novel.
• The Children of the Pool (1936) — Short stories.
• The Secret of the Sangraal and Other Writings (Tartarus Press, 1995) — Essays collected from Dog and Duck (1924), Notes and Queries (1926), Tom O'Bedlam and His Song (1930), Bridles and Spurs (1951) and other sources.