The Canterville Ghost
Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost (1887) is a ghost story and fae fiction novella. Much of the action takes place in England. Readers will find themes of ghosts, fairy tales and readers.
Open Library readers give it an average of 4.6 out of 5 from 8 ratings, and 121 more have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 138 editions across 11 languages.
It runs to roughly 93 pages — about an hour and a half of reading at an average pace.
About The Canterville Ghost
This is Oscar Wilde's tale of the American family moved into a British mansion, Canterville Chase, much to the annoyance of its tired ghost. The family -- which refuses to believe in him -- is in Wilde's way a commentary on the British nobility of the day -- and on the Americans, too. The tale, like many of Wilde's, is rich with allusion, but ends as sentimental romance.
Opening line
“When Mr. Hiram B. Otis, the American minister, bought Canterville Chase, every one told him he was doing a very foolish thing, as there was no doubt at all that the place was haunted.”
Quick answers
Who wrote The Canterville Ghost?
The Canterville Ghost was written by Oscar Wilde and first published in 1887.
What genre is The Canterville Ghost?
It is usually shelved as Ghost Stories, Fae & Fairy Fiction and Fairy Tales & Folklore.
How long is The Canterville Ghost?
The median edition has 93 pages, about about an hour and a half of reading at 250 words per minute.
What books are similar to The Canterville Ghost?
Readers who like it often enjoy Five Children and It, The Cricket on the Hearth and The Water-babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land-baby.
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