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Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T. Joshi has stated that "his work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's"〔S. T. Joshi, ''The Weird Tale'' (University of Texas Press, 1990), p.132.〕 and that his short story collection ''Incredible Adventures'' (1914) "may be the premier weird collection of this or any other century".〔S. T. Joshi, ''The Weird Tale'' (University of Texas Press, 1990), p.131.〕 ==Life and work== Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill (now part of south-east London, but then part of northwest Kent) and educated at Wellington College. His father was a Post Office administrator who, according to Peter Penzoldt, "though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness, had appallingly narrow religious ideas".〔Peter Penzoldt, ''The Supernatural in Fiction'' (1952), Part II, Chapter 7.〕 Blackwood had a varied career, working as a dairy farmer in Canada, operating a hotel, as a newspaper reporter in New York City, bartender, model, journalist for the New York Times, private secretary, businessman, and violin teacher.〔Jack Sullivan, ed. ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural'' (1986), p. 38〕 Throughout his adult life, he was an occasional essayist for various periodicals. During his late thirties, he relocated back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually performing by radio and television to tell them. He also wrote fourteen novels, several children's books, and a number of plays, most of which were produced but not published. He was an avid lover of nature and the outdoors, and many of his stories are affected by this. To satisfy his interest in the supernatural, he joined the Ghost Club. He never married; according to his friends he was a loner but also cheerful company.〔Jack Sullivan, ed. ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural'' (1986), p. 39〕 Jack Sullivan stated that "Blackwood's life parallels his work more neatly than perhaps that of any other ghost story writer. Like his lonely but fundamentally optimistic protagonists, he was a combination of mystic and outdoorsman; when he wasn't steeping himself in occultism, including Rosicrucianism and Buddhism, he was likely to be skiing or mountain climbing."〔 Blackwood was a member of one of the factions of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,〔Regardie, Israel. (1982). ''The Golden Dawn.'' Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 0-87542-664-6. Page ix.〕 as was his contemporary Arthur Machen. Cabalistic themes influence his novel ''The Human Chord''. His two best known stories are probably "The Willows" and "The Wendigo". He would also often write stories for newspapers at short notice, with the result that he was unsure exactly how many short stories he had written and there is no sure total. Though Blackwood wrote a number of horror stories, his most typical work seeks less to frighten than to induce a sense of awe. Good examples are the novels ''The Centaur'', which climaxes with a traveller's sight of a herd of the mythical creatures; and ''Julius LeVallon'' and its sequel ''The Bright Messenger'', which deal with reincarnation and the possibility of a new, mystical evolution of human consciousness. In correspondence with Peter Penzoldt, Blackwood wrote〔Quoted in Peter Penzoldt, ''The Supernatural in Fiction'' (1952), Part II, Chapter 7.〕
Blackwood wrote an autobiography of his early years, ''Episodes Before Thirty'' (1923), and there is a biography by Mike Ashley (ISBN 0-7867-0928-6). Blackwood died after several strokes. Officially his death on 10 December 1951 was of cerebral thrombosis with arteriosclerosis as contributory. He was cremated at Golders Green crematorium. A few weeks later his nephew took his ashes to Saanenmöser Pass in the Swiss Alps Mountains, and scattered them in the mountains that he had loved for more than forty years. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Algernon Blackwood」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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