A moment of madness, and other stories (vol. 3 of 3)

"A Moment of Madness, and Other Stories" (Vol. 3 of 3) by Florence Marryat is a collection of fictional short stories written during the late 19th century. The narratives often revolve around intense emotional situations, relationships, and societal observations, portraying the complexities of human behavior and interactions. The stories likely feature a variety of characters navigating the intricacies of life, love, and morality in Victorian society. The opening of the collection introduces us to Ethel Dunstan, who is currently unsettled in a castle with her young daughter, Katie, due to unsettling behavior from their servants, which Ethel perceives as madness. Ethel expresses bitterness over her husband’s absence, fearing his infidelity with a flirtatious acquaintance, Mrs. Lawless. As tensions rise, Ethel faces mysterious events surrounding her child's care and hears unsettling ghost stories about the castle’s past, including a tale of a murdered English woman and her child. This suspenseful beginning establishes themes of jealousy, fear, and the supernatural that likely permeate the subsequent stories in the volume. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Florence Marryat was a British author and actress. The daughter of author Capt. Frederick Marryat, she was particularly known for her sensational novels and her involvement with several celebrated spiritual mediums of the late 19th century. Her works include Love’s Conflict (1865), Her Father's Name (1876), There is No Death (1891) and The Spirit World (1894), The Dead Man's Message (1894) and The Blood of the Vampire (1897). She was a prolific author, writing around 70 books, as well as newspaper and magazine articles, short stories and works for the stage.