posted on 24 Apr 2023

Visible and Invisible by E.F. Benson

Edward Frederic Benson (1867 – 1940) is probably now best known for his series of novels and stories featuring the characters Mapp & Lucia which are light, humorous and mildly satirical novels of upper-class Edwardian life. They have been made into both television and radio series and are popular with those who like unchallenging costume nonsense. These novels came along relatively late in Benson’s writing career and have come to overshadow his other work which is, in my view, more interesting.

Benson was an eager contributor to monthly and weekly periodicals and provided them with a number of ‘spooky’ or supernatural tales and Visible and Invisible (1923) is a collection of 12 such stories. In truth, as is often the case with collections of this kind, the quality varies considerably but anyone reading them will immediately see the influence of the likes of H.G. Wells and M.R. James – although the quality of those two seminal practitioners of the supernatural and the supranatural is missing from Benson’s work.

Across the twelve stories Benson is capable of the subtle and the rather explicitly crass. The first story in the collection, And Spake the Dead, is straight from the Wellsian playbook and features a scientist who has developed a system for playing back a brain’s memories rather in the same way that a stylus plays a vinyl record. It’s a story that taps into the ever fertile mad scientist and fear of technology out-of-control concerns that have become increasingly prescient as we hurtle towards the unfettered use of AI.

At the other end of the spectrum is Negotium Perambulans which is a frankly absurd story about a giant slug-like demon that appears in the dark and sucks the blood of its victims. There’s always danger in writers making the subject of their horror explicit because capturing the horror in words is tough – as M.R. James knew so well, hinting at something nameless is always more effective. I would suggest that describing a giant blood-drinking slug is always doomed to deflate whatever tension has been created.

There are also stories here that deal with subjects as diverse as reincarnation, seances (serious and humorous), astral projection, unknown creatures and standard ghosts – some of which are rather hard work. Perhaps the most successful story in the book – Mrs Amworth - owes a debt to Bram Stoker and takes us into vampire territory. It’s not a subtle or inventive story but the conventional telling of the trapping of a vampire is satisfyingly told.

I also liked The Outcast which tells the rather mysterious story of Mrs Acres who – alive and dead – is such a deeply corrupt creature that, despite her physical beauty, her very presence repels everyone who comes into contact with her. Even following her death at sea, even the water and the earth she is to be buried in will not accommodate her.

All in all, I was disappointed by this collection and not, I think, because of the lack of invention but because the quality of writing is never better than second division. There are so many other writers operating in similar territory and doing it so much better that Benson’s are bound to feel like a poor substitute.

However, if you want to try for yourself this book is quite hard to find and you may have to order a paperback from abroad or stump up for a hardback which will set you back well in excess of £25

 

Terry Potter

April 2023