The Strange Story Book

In Short

This volume serves as the final installment in a long-running series of storybooks, functioning as an eclectic anthology of the mysterious and the marvelous. It brings together Tlingit myths, accounts of colonial ghosts, biographies of historical figures like Leonardo da Vinci, and tales of adventure. By framing these narratives as "strange," the collection invites readers to consider the enduring power of myth and the fascinating persistence of the unusual across different cultures and eras. It remains a notable relic of early twentieth-century storytelling, designed to captivate a curious and imaginative audience.

The Story

The collection moves fluidly between the mythic and the biographical, beginning with Tlingit legends—such as the tale of the porcupine and the beaver or the story of the poor boy who slays a white bear—which establish a world where animals speak and social hierarchies are tested through supernatural feats. These indigenous narratives set a tone of wonder that persists even as the focus shifts to more familiar, if still unsettling, Western lore.

The narrative arc encompasses the transformation of familiar landscapes, exemplified by the story of Rip Van Winkle, who returns to a village that has discarded its colonial identity for the stars and stripes of a new republic. From there, the book ventures into the curious case of Mrs. Veal, a woman who appears to her friend after her own death, leaving behind a tangible trace of her visit in the form of a scoured silk garment. This focus on the "strange" leads naturally to the lives of remarkable individuals. Hannah Snell, a woman who disguises herself as a soldier to sail to the East Indies, represents the courage found in unconventional paths, while "Blind Jack" Metcalfe, who navigates the world and the battlefield with preternatural skill despite his lack of sight, highlights the triumphs of human perception.

The book also explores the lives of historical figures through an atmospheric lens. Leonardo da Vinci appears not merely as a painter but as an inventor of mechanical marvels, such as the life-sized lion that presents lilies to the King of France. Aurore, a girl whose childhood is marked by mischievous exploits and rooftop adventures, provides a more personal, domestic counterpoint to these grander tales. The collection concludes by revisiting the theme of betrayal and political intrigue in the fall of Rhodes, reminding the reader that human history is often as strange and unpredictable as any folk tale. Throughout these diverse accounts, the boundary between the mundane and the impossible is consistently blurred, leaving the reader to wonder where the truth of history ends and the art of storytelling begins.

How It Unfolds

The mythic foundations The volume opens with indigenous Tlingit stories, where animal rivalries and the deeds of a "poor boy" challenge the expectations of tribal society. These tales establish a realm where the natural world is inextricably linked to the extraordinary.

The shift to the uncanny The narrative transitions to Western ghost stories and colonial legends, exploring how the dead return and how landscapes shift under the weight of time. Figures like Mrs. Veal provide a bridge between the physical world and the spectral.

The path of the adventurer The focus turns to historical figures, such as Hannah Snell and Blind Jack, whose lives are defined by their refusal to accept societal limitations. Their stories emphasize individual agency and the mastery of one’s environment against all odds.

The intersection of art and history The book examines the life of Leonardo da Vinci, portraying him as a creator of wonders who uses art to influence power. This connects the earlier folk themes to the realities of the Renaissance court.

The final reflection The collection closes with the decline of Rhodes, grounding the previous tales of wonder in the sobering reality of political downfall. It leaves the reader with a final, lingering sense of the fragility of human endeavor.

The People

Wolfert, a man consumed by the desire to find buried treasure, acts as the archetypal seeker, driven by a greed that makes him susceptible to the lore of pirates and ghosts. His obsession separates him from the ordinary world, pulling him toward desolation. Hannah Snell stands in stark contrast as a woman of resolve; her desire to see the world leads her to adopt a male identity, an act of self-invention that allows her to thrive in the rough environment of a ship’s crew.

Blind Jack Metcalfe is perhaps the most resilient figure, using his lack of sight as a catalyst for developing acute physical senses that allow him to climb and ride better than his sighted peers. His journey is one of constant adaptation, moving from childhood independence to military intrigue. Aurore, meanwhile, represents the irrepressible curiosity of youth. Her escapades, marked by a disregard for the strictures of her convent school, show a character who finds joy in testing boundaries. Finally, the "poor boy" of the Tlingit legends emerges as a figure of quiet authority. Despite the mockery of his peers, he succeeds through persistence, ultimately shaming the arrogant and proving his worth to the chief.

In Its Own Voice

Regarding the persistence of old tales and the child’s perspective, the preface notes:

'I like old things better than new,' said the child! 'I wish I knew that little boy,' observed the man.

In the story of Rip Van Winkle, the confusion of a man returning to his home after a long sleep is captured:

The ancient structure with its latticed panes and gabled roof was gone, and instead he beheld a long sort of wooden shed, untidy and dirty, the windows more holes than glass, and stuffed with old hats or even petticoats to keep out the air.

In the account of Mrs. Bargrave’s encounter with the deceased, the proof of the visit is revealed:

'Then you must indeed have seen her, as I helped her myself to make it up, and nobody but she and I knew that it was scoured.'

What It's Really About

The central argument of the book is that the extraordinary is a fundamental part of the human experience, spanning from the creation myths of indigenous peoples to the personal legends of historical figures. It posits that "strangeness" is not merely a matter of ghosts or magic, but an expression of the human spirit’s capacity for endurance, invention, and transformation. The book questions how much of our history is defined by the myths we create to explain the inexplicable. By grouping these varied accounts, it suggests that human curiosity remains a constant, and that we are all, in our own way, searching for the meaning hidden behind the "strange" events that shape our lives.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy the atmosphere of classic folklore and nineteenth-century historical vignettes will find much to admire here. The prose is elegant and measured, reflecting a time when storytelling was meant to be savored rather than rushed. Reading it feels like visiting a private library filled with dusty, well-loved volumes of myth and biography; it possesses a calm, academic warmth that is increasingly rare.

However, the modern reader should be prepared for the period-specific attitudes embedded in the text. The collection reflects the colonial perspective of its era, particularly in its treatment of indigenous stories, and the language occasionally carries the formal, sometimes paternalistic, tone of early 1900s children’s literature. Additionally, the inclusion of archaic dialect and the specific, sometimes slow-moving pacing of the stories may require a bit of patience. Despite these dated elements, the book succeeds as an exploration of the human imagination. What stays with the reader is the sense of wonder that links a Tlingit hunter to an English soldier, reminding us that no matter how much the world of "wheels and wings" advances, the human drive to find the marvelous remains unchanged. It is a book for those who, like the child in the preface, still prefer the old stories to the new.