The Signalman
A Ghost Story
Published on 24. September 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
80 pages
978-1-78125-591-9 (ISBN)
Description
On the 9th of June 1865, Charles Dickens was travelling aboard the Folkestone to London Boat Train with his mistress and her mother, when it derailed while crossing a viaduct near Staplehurst in Kent. The train plunged down a bank into a dry river bed, killing ten passengers, and badly wounding forty.
Dickens was profoundly affected by the disaster, and a year later, he published The Signalman, a supremely atmospheric ghost story in which the narrator, while investigating a dank and lonely railway cutting, meets the signalman who works there. His new acquaintance appears to live under the shadow of an unbearable secret, haunted by an apparition whose appearance prefigures terrible rail accidents.
Drawing on Dickens own experiences, and introduced by Simon Bradley, author of The Railways, The Signalman is both an important piece of rail history, and a sinister tale which will make you think twice next time you enter the quiet carriage.
Dickens was profoundly affected by the disaster, and a year later, he published The Signalman, a supremely atmospheric ghost story in which the narrator, while investigating a dank and lonely railway cutting, meets the signalman who works there. His new acquaintance appears to live under the shadow of an unbearable secret, haunted by an apparition whose appearance prefigures terrible rail accidents.
Drawing on Dickens own experiences, and introduced by Simon Bradley, author of The Railways, The Signalman is both an important piece of rail history, and a sinister tale which will make you think twice next time you enter the quiet carriage.
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
190 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78125-591-9 (9781781255919)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2015
Profile Books Ltd
€4.49
Available for download
Persons
Charles Dickens was born on 7th February 1812 in Portsmouth and grew up in London and Kent. His father was sent to a debtor's prison following financial difficulties and the young Dickens was sent temporarily to work in a boot blacking factory, until an inheritance allowed his return to school - however, he never forgot this formative experience. Dickens wrote many novels including A Tale of Two Cities, The Pickwick Papers, A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations. A leading celebrity of the Victorian Age, his short story The Signalman was likely based on a crash involving a train that Dickens was travelling on, with his mistress. Charles Dickens died in 1870.
Simon Bradley is editor of the world famous Buildings of England series, founded by Nikolaus Pevsner, to which he has contributed a number of notable revised volumes. He started trainspotting at the age of eleven and his enthusiasm for railways has proved remarkably enduring. He is the author of St Pancras Station (Profile), and lives in London.
Simon Bradley is editor of the world famous Buildings of England series, founded by Nikolaus Pevsner, to which he has contributed a number of notable revised volumes. He started trainspotting at the age of eleven and his enthusiasm for railways has proved remarkably enduring. He is the author of St Pancras Station (Profile), and lives in London.