{"product_id":"the-door-ajar-9781917113106","title":"The Door Ajar","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Door Ajar\u003c\/em\u003e, a collection of seven short stories of the weird and uncanny by Virginia Milward, was first published by William Rider \u0026amp; Son, Limited, in the spring of 1912. Two of the tales are premonitory, and three of them involve haunted objects-a book from the time of plague, a silver box that witnessed the French Revolution, and a painting from fifteenth-century Florence-that reveal the tragic ends of those who once possessed them. The atmosphere in all of the stories is oppressive; the women in them are haunted, desperate, tortured, abandoned or exhausted, and the cause for their sad state is usually a man, for 'where men go pain follows-pain and misery of mind.' These are tales in which 'woman suffers and the man sins, and the man shares all the sin, but not the suffering.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis Nezu Press edition, the first republication of the collection since 1912, includes a 17-page biographical essay by Gina R. Collia that reveals the real identity of the author and paints a vivid picture of her troubled life: \" 'I Have No Use for Men': The Life of Pearl Rudkin.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'They are striking, and brilliantly written; the occult strain in them gives them an additional piquancy. The last story, \"A Minor Third,\" which is less obviously occultistic than the rest, ends in a situation which is seldom surpassed for power in short stories.' \u003cem\u003eWestminster Review\u003c\/em\u003e, 1912.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Seven short stories of passion and crime in which the weird and uncanny form a fascinating background to scenes of high dramatic power and throbbing human interest.' \u003cem\u003eOld Moore's Monthly Messenger\u003c\/em\u003e, 1912.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Nezu Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51552843497746,"sku":"9781917113106","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_48740e88-7e94-4fda-88e2-e11db5c0896a.jpg?v=1754907790","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-door-ajar-9781917113106","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}