The Complete Ghost Stories of J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Some of the amazing talent that contributed to the recordings
Jim Rockhill at Le Fanu's home at Merrion Square, Dublin (António Monteiro).
Leigh Odlin, Composer
A no-nonsense Fenlander, Leigh Odlin is that rare individual who has mastered more than one artistic discipline. He has won recognition as a film-maker, playwright, illustrator and, above all, as a composer. Music has been his overriding passion since he was a small boy when he began to improvise in preference to practising his piano scales.
Today his music, which draws on influences as diverse as the landscape around him and the extremes of modern jazz, includes the Wivenhoe Overture and a concerto for Saxophone. Leigh has composed music for numerous Craftsman titles by authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin, M. R. James and now J. Sheridan Le Fanu (you can hear an extract below).
Jim Rockhill, Project Consultant
Jim Rockhill provides the expertise critical to the project's integrity. He is an associate editor for Centipede Press, Aickman Studies, and Le Fanu Studies. He has edited volumes collecting the supernatural fiction of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Bob Leman, and E.T.A. Hoffmann; and served as co-editor for the first printing since 1864 of My Aunt Margaret’s Adventure, a story ascribed to Le Fanu by M. R. James as well as the Stoker Award nominated Reflections in a Glass Darkly: Essays on J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Click here for Jim's complete bibliography.
During Le Fanu’s 2014 bicentenary, he joined writer-publisher Brian J. Showers in Dublin to present an illustrated introduction to the author. In addition, they edited two volumes for the bicentenary: the anthology Dreams of Shadow and Smoke: Stories for J. S. Le Fanu and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Reminiscences of a Bachelor.
Reggie Oliver, Gentleman and Scholar
The multi-talented, Reggie Oliver, is an essential member of the Craftsman team. Educated at Eton and University College, Oxford, his skills are those of an author, playwright, actor, theatre director and classicist. He has numerous plays in publication and is a noted translator of the playwright Georges Feydeau as well as being an authority on the life and works of M. R. James. He is the nephew of Stella Gibbons, and wrote her acclaimed biography, Out of the Woodshed.
As if that were not enough, he is also a renowed author of ghost stories in his own right, an International Horror Guild Awards nominee and a winner of the coveted Arthur Machen Short Story Prize.
Steinar Lund, Illustrator
Steinar Lund's amazing artwork has set the style for Craftsman titles in works by M. R. James, Robert M. Pirsig and now, with steam punk inspiration, J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Steinar was born in Norway and moved to England as a child. As a teenager his experience of dreams and discovering Surrealism sparked an interest in depicting the strange and unexplained. TV shows like The Twilight Zone, Hammer Horrors and Science Fiction films became firm favourites.
His illustration career began with cover art for Mind Body Spirit publishers such as Thorsons Publishing. Later he became known in the paranormal field which led to illustrations for numerous books about dreams and psychic development for Sterling Publishing. Steinar has also released music albums exploring mystical and spiritual themes available on iTunes and Spotify. Recently he has started combining his artistic and audio skills to create videos.