Brian Lavelle

I'm reminded, by way of a post from my friend Mark Valentine (https://wormwoodiana.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-centenary-of-connoisseur-and-other.html), that Walter de la Mare's collection of stories, The Connoisseur and Other Stories, was published a century ago this year. It contains some truly singular ghost stories that are masterpieces of the form: the title story, Mr. Kempe and All Hallows to name but three of them.

I'm also reminded when getting it from the shelf that my copy contains on its front pastedown a lovely bookplate of one Dorothy Nash, about whom I've not been able to find out very much. The age of the plate would seem to be contemporaneous with this 1926 volume. Its motto - “adscriptus glæbe” - means something like tied, or attached, to the soil or the earth. The depiction of an oak sapling sprouting from the acorn might even be a playful nod to the æ ligature also known as an “ash”.

One other book listing online has the same plate which it describes as “Interesting Bookplate of Dorothy Nash (actress.)” IMDB tells me that Ms. Nash is “known for Johnny Ring and the Captain's Sword (1921) and The Stain in the Blood (1916)” but since both of these appear to be US-made films, I think it's unlikely to be our Dorothy…

And finally, right at the bottom of that front pastedown is also a tiny bookseller's label, with gold type on a black background, which reads:

S.W. SIMMS & CO., Booksellers
12 George Street & 8 Bridge Street
BATH.

I love that books contains these secrets and avenues for investigation, even before you get to the "true" contents.

#WalterDeLaMare #TheConnoisseurAndOtherStories #ShortStories #GhostStories #StrangeStories #Bookstodon #Bookplates #ExLibris #DorothyNash @bookstodon

Jun 15 at 2:20pmWeb
Show threadNovember Grau3d ago
@brian @bookstodon That's fantastic! I love De La Mare and am also a huge fan of Mark Valentine! I love the Collected Connoisseur and Herald of the Hidden and always enjoy his appearances in the Sarob Press books.
Show threadBrian Lavelle3d ago

@Sonnenbarke

I love both of their work, too. I think Mark’s best work shares many of the strange and atmospheric qualities as de la Mare’s, but also has its own unique style. Fabulous writers both!

I’m glad to find a fellow aficionado of their work here - I confess I found your profile via the WdlM hashtag!

Show threadNovember Grau2d ago
@brian Yes it's not every day I see someone here who's into that kind of ghost story! And yes they do share a lightness of touch and their writing has a similar kind of immanence, a sense of unseen currents merging and diverging just below the surface of the text. And yeah, I regularly comb the WdeM hashtag here and on Bluesky, though it tends to be more his poems that get mentioned. I especially love his stories when they're set in summer, with all that open air and blue sky. When the darker element creeps in it's a bit like when you enter a familiar house on a bright day and for a few seconds you can't see properly, and it could be somewhere else you don't know at all. And you don't quite like to put your hands out in case something takes them.