Tales of the Dead
The anonymous 1813 English ghost story anthology drawn from Fantasmagoriana, translated and edited by Sarah Elizabeth Utterson, with a story of her own added.
- Original byline
- Anonymous
- Published
- 1813
- Form
- Other works
- Authorship
- Revealed: Sarah Elizabeth Utterson
- Attribution source
- Wikipedia: List of anonymously published works
- How it came out
- the anonymous translator-editor was later identified in the documented record
- Reason for anonymity
- Unrecorded
- Copyright
- Public domain
- Reference
- Wikipedia · Wikidata
The authorship story
Tales of the Dead appeared in London in 1813, an anonymous English selection from the French Fantasmagoriana with the translator's own story, The Storied Ghost, added. The volume carried no name; the translator and editor was Sarah Elizabeth Utterson, whose role is part of the documented record. Through its French parent the book connects to the Villa Diodati ghost story contest of 1816, and it holds a place in the pedigree of English horror anthologies. The anonymity here was the ordinary self-effacement of a genteel woman translator, and the reveal came with the bibliography.
Questions readers ask
Who wrote Tales of the Dead?
Tales of the Dead was published anonymously and is documented as the work of Sarah Elizabeth Utterson. (the anonymous translator-editor was later identified in the documented record). Source: Wikipedia: List of anonymously published works.
Can I read Tales of the Dead for free?
Yes. Tales of the Dead is in the public domain and the full text is free to read at the Internet Archive.
When was Tales of the Dead published?
Tales of the Dead was published in 1813 without an author’s name.
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