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Thursday, September 18, 2014

The Horror Paperbacks of Florence Stevenson

I am not much sure who Florence Stevenson is but going by these paperbacks of hers written throughout the late '60s, '70s and into the horror heyday of the 1980s, she wrote the gamut: quiet horror, Gothic horror, witches, vampires, even cat lady horror--I love Ira Levin's blurb on Ophelia (Signet/Apr 1969): "fresh, delectable, refinedly sexy."
Amazon lists dozens of her paperback novels. The cover art on all of these offers much to be enjoyed, from the creepy-kid vibe of A Feast of Eggshells (Signet/Dec 1969--and don't miss that body at the bottom of the stairs) to the proto-paranormal romance imagery of Moonlight Variations (HBJove/Jan 1981), or the delicious bosomy Gothic of The Curse of the Concullens (Signet Gothic/Nov 1976) and The Witching Hour, to the luridly overdone '80s covers for Household (Leisure/Mar 1989) and The Sisterhood (Leisure/Oct 1989).

 
 
I found only the most basic biographical info on a romance site; if anyone knows anything more, let us know. And oh yeah, if you've read any of these too!

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5 comments:

  1. highwaykneesSeptember 22, 2014 at 1:56 PM

    So glad you found these Stevenson books! I remember reading A Feast of Eggshells when I was just starting MY horror-loving heyday, so , around '69 when it came out I guess. I know i was an impressionable 13 yo at the time and I couldn't get enough of the stuff! The book in question was a variation on The Bad Seed theme of the time-which was one of my favorite tropes-and still is. I haven't seen a copy since, though i have tried tracking it down cuz I lost mine somewhere along the way. I also recently bought a tattered copy of Household ,mainly because i found the cover compelling. I haven't read it yet though. Love the title and cover for A Feast of Eggshells I admit.

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  2. Will ErricksonSeptember 24, 2014 at 3:42 PM

    Hope to read one one day!

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  3. UnknownMarch 6, 2017 at 5:07 PM


    Hi will,

    you are so lucky to have found these books i am trying to find a copy of Ophelia. No luck so far. do you know where i can get it from?

    thanks your loyal horror fan

    Ronley Murray

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  4. Will ErricksonJuly 14, 2017 at 11:46 AM

    Ronley, one thing I've learned is to be diligent checking and rechecking all the used booksellers online; titles appear and disappear at random. Good luck!

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  5. batgirlSeptember 6, 2018 at 10:36 AM

    I have several of her Zabrina Faire Regency romances - good fun with strong-willed heroines and a light touch, very much in the Heyer tradition. Also picked up Curse of the Concullens, which is more Gothic but with the same humour and lightness - our governess heroine deals competently with her two young charges being werewolves and eventually breaks the family curse by finding the unforgiveable sin that the heir can commit - marrying an Englishwoman! (Her, of course)
    I love that cover for Feast of Eggshells. Must collect more Stevenson, obviously.

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