Tales of the uneasy

"Tales of the uneasy" by Violet Hunt is a collection of short stories written in the early 20th century. The book blends social realism with subtle supernatural and psychological chills, often centering on women navigating love, reputation, and moral responsibility in refined settings. Expect ghostly interruptions, forebodings, and the quiet cruelties of polite society, with protagonists whose choices and denials invite uncanny consequences. The opening of the collection presents two interlinked moods of dread and remorse. In The Telegram, wealthy flirt Alice Damer, newly orphaned and weighing the prospect of a companion or a husband, reconsiders her long-devoted admirer Everard Jenkyns; after a strained dinner revealing his decline, a delayed wire and a visit to his chambers suggest he had already died, leaving hints of a posthumous call and guilt-laden farewell. The Operation then shifts to Florence Mardell, second wife of a celebrated actor, who suffers sudden, racking pains while her cook insists she saw a funeral leave the nursing home across the street; amid domestic details, Florence broods over a disquieting letter from her husband’s generous first wife, Julia, and trades candid talk with a friend, as the neighbor’s patient faces a repeat operation and an ominous atmosphere gathers.