Audiobook · read by volunteers
White People
Arthur Machen (1863–1947)
Read by Charlie Blakemore · 3 chapters · 1 h 49
About the book
A young woman has died, and among her papers lies a green book, written in her own hand, which she asked nobody to read. In it she describes her childhood, the strange lessons given by her nurse and the odd rites, hidden places and secret names she was taught as a girl, along with walks in the countryside that seem to open on to another world. As we read, the book leads us towards a notion of evil that is not what a conventional mind imagines. Arthur Machen presents this tale with a framework of conversation between two men, who debate the nature of sin before the manuscript is produced. The story is atmospheric, strange and quietly unsettling, with a style that is dreamlike and precise. Three parts, read by one volunteer, last about an hour and fifty minutes. It is a classic of the weird tale and best suited to a quiet, dark evening.
Introduction
Arthur Machen, born in 1863 and died in 1947, was a Welsh writer whose stories of the supernatural helped shape modern horror and fantasy. Critics see his work as an important part of the late Victorian revival of the gothic novel and of the decadent movement of the 1890s, and compare it with contemporary works such as Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
The White People was written around 1899 and first published in 1904. It is built around the idea that true evil is not the same as ordinary wrongdoing, and it presents this by way of a girl's account of her private world. Many later writers of weird fiction, including H. P. Lovecraft, admired it for its sense of hidden powers behind the visible landscape.
The recording is divided into three parts and lasts a little under two hours. It is read by one LibriVox volunteer. The prose depends on rhythm and suggestion, so listening is an especially good way to appreciate it, and the story rewards patience. For readers who enjoy ghost stories and gothic tales of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it is a landmark worth hearing in full. The story is often recommended to readers who think of horror as noise and shocks, since it works by slow suggestion instead. Machen's descriptions of woods, hills and hidden hollows are among the most memorable passages of his prose. Listening in the dark, with no distractions, is probably the best way to feel the full effect of what he is trying to evoke.
Public domain
Arthur Machen died in 1947: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text