The first volume of a unique collection of bizarre tales from a master of the genre Richard Marsh was the pseudonym of British born author Richard Bernard Heldman (1857-1916). His most famous work of supernatural fiction, The Beetle, was published in 1897, the same year as Bram Stoker"s tale of the vampire Count Dracula, and it is believed that initially Marsh"s book, which also features a bizarre and sinister figure capable of "shape shifting," was even more popular with readers than Stoker"s. Today Marsh"s book is still widely regarded as a classic of its genre. Although a prolific author who wrote in a number of genres including adventure fiction under his real name, Marsh is principally remembered as a writer of supernatural thrillers and his output in this field was prodigious. Most aficionados of the genre have heard of The Beetle, but this special Leonaur collection of the author"s excursions into the other worldly and strange extends to six satisfyingly substantial volumes containing many tales that will be unfamiliar to modern readers. Volume one includes two novels, The Beetle: a Mystery and The Joss: a Reversion, and one short story, "The Haunted Chair," of the strange and unusual. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.