The Lost Stradivarius
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Product Description
Product Description
Chilling in the extreme, 'The Lost Stradivarius' is a classic tale of the supernatural. While practicing in his rooms in Oxford, gifted violinist John Maltravers notices a strange phenomenon: whenever a certain air is played, a mysterious presence seems to enter. Unable to rationalize this away, Maltravers becomes increasingly unsettled, until he makes a startling discovery--tucked away in a hidden cupboard in his room is a priceless Stradivarius. Obsessed by his find, he becomes increasingly withdrawn from those around him, choosing instead to explore more sinister pursuits, little knowing the spell that this seemingly perfect violin is unleashing upon him. English poet and novelist J. Meade Falkner is best remembered for his novel, 'Moonfleet'.
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Chilling in the extreme, The Lost Stradivarius is a classic tale of the supernatural from the author of Moonfleet.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had heard about the reputation of this novel, apparently a minor masterpiece waiting to be re-discovered, and having read it, I think much of the praise heaped on it by critics and readers is, by and large, justified.
It is not a novel, strictly a long short story as it only runs to one hundred and thirty pages of text; it deals with the discovery of a Stradivarius violin and how this affects the central character, John Maltravers.
The story is written in elegant, matter of fact prose which serves to heighten the supernatural happenings and the fact that the narrators are recalling events which occurred fifty years previously, also adds to the sense of a mysterious tale unfolding from the depths of the past.
However, 'The Lost Stradivarius' is not scary; it won't keep you awake at night. It is, however, unsettling and is really about a man's obsession and the power of music, for good as well as evil.
The story starts off excellently with lots of atmosphere, but does tail off slightly halfway through before recovering to reach its conclusion. Some readers may find the use of coincidences unconvincing, but for me they added to the story's texture rather than detracting from it.
There are aspects of 'The Lost Stradivarius' which reminded me of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and indeed of its author Oscar Wilde, which Tom Paulin, in his introduction to the Hesperus edition, makes apparent.
'The Lost Stradivarius' would make an excellent Radio 4 'Book at Bedtime' and the producers of that series have my permission to take me up on the idea.
It is not a novel, strictly a long short story as it only runs to one hundred and thirty pages of text; it deals with the discovery of a Stradivarius violin and how this affects the central character, John Maltravers.
The story is written in elegant, matter of fact prose which serves to heighten the supernatural happenings and the fact that the narrators are recalling events which occurred fifty years previously, also adds to the sense of a mysterious tale unfolding from the depths of the past.
However, 'The Lost Stradivarius' is not scary; it won't keep you awake at night. It is, however, unsettling and is really about a man's obsession and the power of music, for good as well as evil.
The story starts off excellently with lots of atmosphere, but does tail off slightly halfway through before recovering to reach its conclusion. Some readers may find the use of coincidences unconvincing, but for me they added to the story's texture rather than detracting from it.
There are aspects of 'The Lost Stradivarius' which reminded me of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and indeed of its author Oscar Wilde, which Tom Paulin, in his introduction to the Hesperus edition, makes apparent.
'The Lost Stradivarius' would make an excellent Radio 4 'Book at Bedtime' and the producers of that series have my permission to take me up on the idea.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I first came across this story on Radio 4 afternoon stories in the mid 1970's & enjoyed the atmosphere so much that it left a permanent longing to try & get hold of the book or an audio recording of the original broadcast. That was some 30 years ago & alas I had failed to procure such an item.
You can imagine how surprised & gratified I was when by chance I came across this book at Amazon.
This is a truly fantastic read & I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to be entertained but not terrified out of their minds. It is fascinating how everything comes together at the end & we are left with the true horror of the crime which befell both owners of the Stradivarius, & a warning not to indulge ourselves with things we do not understand & should not understand.....
You can imagine how surprised & gratified I was when by chance I came across this book at Amazon.
This is a truly fantastic read & I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to be entertained but not terrified out of their minds. It is fascinating how everything comes together at the end & we are left with the true horror of the crime which befell both owners of the Stradivarius, & a warning not to indulge ourselves with things we do not understand & should not understand.....
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
.
I saw an exhibition about the author John Meade Falkner at the Dortchester museum whilst on holiday down in Dorset a couple of years ago. During the holiday I also visited the atmospheric and somewhat bleakly beautiful village of Worth Maltravers which is mentioned throughout this novel.
Whilst doing a bit of research (alright then just internet browsing) this book came up here in the Kindle store and gave me cause to remember the visits. The author seems a well regarded man so I saw no reason not to give "The Lost Stratavarious" a read.
The story commences in the form of a letter from the sister of John Maltravers (our main subject) as she writes to her nephew Edward on his coming of age at 21. The book moves along at a page turning Kindle clicking nicely descriptive dark atmospheric pace and I was very quickly enthralled.
I would put this book in the category of an historical ghost story. For me anyway it was a genuine classic which I was very glad to discover. I found the story easy to follow and to picture the described scenes page by page as the tale unfolded. It was without confusion or sideline plots which in my opinion is so often the unecessary case in many novels. This is a perfect treat for those that would like a moderately short "stay with you" spooky story.
Even though I finished reading "The Lost Stratavarious" a few days ago I am still thinking about how good it was and trying to shake it off. A sign of a good book to me is one that after you have read it you tell yourself you will read again one day. This is definitely the case here, even when you know the conclusion to this ghostly tale it is such a well constructed book it will be a pleasure to one day read again.
I saw an exhibition about the author John Meade Falkner at the Dortchester museum whilst on holiday down in Dorset a couple of years ago. During the holiday I also visited the atmospheric and somewhat bleakly beautiful village of Worth Maltravers which is mentioned throughout this novel.
Whilst doing a bit of research (alright then just internet browsing) this book came up here in the Kindle store and gave me cause to remember the visits. The author seems a well regarded man so I saw no reason not to give "The Lost Stratavarious" a read.
The story commences in the form of a letter from the sister of John Maltravers (our main subject) as she writes to her nephew Edward on his coming of age at 21. The book moves along at a page turning Kindle clicking nicely descriptive dark atmospheric pace and I was very quickly enthralled.
I would put this book in the category of an historical ghost story. For me anyway it was a genuine classic which I was very glad to discover. I found the story easy to follow and to picture the described scenes page by page as the tale unfolded. It was without confusion or sideline plots which in my opinion is so often the unecessary case in many novels. This is a perfect treat for those that would like a moderately short "stay with you" spooky story.
Even though I finished reading "The Lost Stratavarious" a few days ago I am still thinking about how good it was and trying to shake it off. A sign of a good book to me is one that after you have read it you tell yourself you will read again one day. This is definitely the case here, even when you know the conclusion to this ghostly tale it is such a well constructed book it will be a pleasure to one day read again.
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