THE THREE IMPOSTORS (Gothic Horror Classic) (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Dark Fantasy AdventureBy Arthur Machen
Length7h 1m
About this audiobook
Arthur Machen's The Three Impostors (1895) is a labyrinthine Gothic horror novel of pursuit, deception, and occult dread, set amid the fog-bound streets and uncanny interiors of fin-de-siècle London. Framed through interlocking episodes and embedded tales, it mingles detective fiction, Decadent prose, urban mystery, and metaphysical terror. Its notorious stories—especially those hinting at bodily transformation, secret rites, and forbidden survivals—extend Victorian Gothic beyond haunted castles into modern psychological and spiritual disquiet. Machen, born in Caerleon, Wales, brought to his fiction a lifelong fascination with Celtic antiquity, sacramental mystery, folklore, and the hidden life beneath ordinary appearances. His years in London as a journalist, translator, and struggling man of letters sharpened his sense of the metropolis as both mundane and occult. The novel reflects his characteristic conviction that reality is porous, and that ancient forces may irrupt through the thinnest veil of modern civilization. This book is essential for readers of Gothic horror, weird fiction, and literary Decadence. Admirers of Stevenson, Wilde, Lovecraft, and Blackwood will find in Machen's work a disturbing, elegant, and influential masterpiece of suggestive terror.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreHorror
Length7 hrs 1 min
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMay 11, 2016
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The Parenticide Club (My Favorite Murder + Oil of Dog + An Imperfect Conflagration + The Hypnotist) (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5THE THREE IMPOSTORS (Gothic Horror Classic) (pt. 1)
Show all chaptersShow less
6THE THREE IMPOSTORS (Gothic Horror Classic) (pt. 2)
7THE THREE IMPOSTORS (Gothic Horror Classic) (pt. 3)
8Analysis
9Reflection
10Memorable Quotes
Horror Classics: 560+ Titles in One EditionArthur Machen, H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, Algernon Blackwood, M. R. James, Wilkie Collins, E. F. Benson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ambrose Bierce, William Hope Hodgson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Grant Allen, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Théophile Gautier, Richard Marsh, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Guy de Maupassant, Elizabeth Gaskell, Mark Twain, Daniel Defoe, Jerome K. Jerome, Fitz-James O'Brien, Catherine Crowe, Émile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrian, Pedro De Alarçon, Walter Hubbell, Amelia B. Edwards, Washington Irving, John Meade Falkner, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Louisa M. Alcott, Edith Nesbit, Mary Louisa Molesworth, Francis Marion Crawford, John Kendrick Bangs, Gertrude Atherton, J. K. Huysmans, John Buchan, Sabine Baring-Gould, Cleveland Moffett, Louis Tracy, Nikolai Gogol, James Malcolm Rymer, Thomas Peckett Prest, Frederick Marryat, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, H. G. Wells, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, W. W. Jacobs, Saki, Wilhelm Hauff, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Robert W. Chambers, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Thomas De Quincey, William Makepeace Thackeray, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Robert E. Howard985h 54m$1.99 · $0.00
THE THREE IMPOSTORS (Dark Fantasy Classic)Arthur Machen6h 19m3.9 (2.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
THE SECRET GLORY (The Quest of the Sangraal)Arthur Machen7h 5m3.9 (235)$1.99 · $0.00
Arthur Machen - Ultimate Collection: The Greatest Occult & Supernatural ClassicsArthur Machen182h 22m4.3 (150)$2.99 · $0.00
The Weird Tales - Horror & Macabre Ultimate CollectionArthur Machen29h 54m4.2 (19)$1.99 · $0.00
The Hill of DreamsArthur Machen6h 57m3.9 (2.9K)$10 · $0.00
Hieroglyphics (Annotated)Arthur Machen4h 27m4.0 (537)$1.99 · $0.00
Into the DarknessArthur Machen, H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, Algernon Blackwood, M. R. James, Wilkie Collins, E. F. Benson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ambrose Bierce, William Hope Hodgson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Grant Allen, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Théophile Gautier, Richard Marsh, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Guy de Maupassant, Elizabeth Gaskell, Mark Twain, Daniel Defoe, Jerome K. Jerome, Fitz-James O'Brien, Catherine Crowe, Émile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrian, Pedro De Alarçon, Walter Hubbell, Amelia B. Edwards, Washington Irving, John Meade Falkner, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Louisa M. Alcott, Edith Nesbit, Mary Louisa Molesworth, Francis Marion Crawford, John Kendrick Bangs, Gertrude Atherton, J. K. Huysmans, John Buchan, Sabine Baring-Gould, Cleveland Moffett, Louis Tracy, Nikolai Gogol, James Malcolm Rymer, Thomas Peckett Prest, Frederick Marryat, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, H. G. Wells, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, W. W. Jacobs, Saki, Wilhelm Hauff, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Robert W. Chambers, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Thomas De Quincey, William Makepeace Thackeray, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Robert E. Howard985h 55m4.3 (37)$0.99 · $0.00
The Greatest Works of Arthur Machen - Ultimate Horror & Dark Fantasy Collection (Annotated)Arthur Machen36h 20m4.3 (63)$2 · $0.00
The Three Impostors; or, The Transmutations (Annotated)Arthur Machen5h 58m3.9 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
ARTHUR MACHEN Premium Collection: 30+ Novels & Short Stories (Including Essays, Translations & Autobiography) (Annotated)Arthur Machen198h 2m$2 · $0.00
Arthur Machen: 30+ Horror Classics, Supernatural Mysteries & Fantasy Books (Annotated)Arthur Machen198h 2m$2 · $0.00
Arthur Machen - Ultimate Collection: The Greatest Occult & Supernatural Classics (Annotated)Arthur Machen182h 34m4.4 (135)$2 · $0.00
THE WEIRD TALES - Horror & Macabre Collection (Annotated)Arthur Machen30h4.2 (17)$2 · $0.00
THE GREAT GOD PAN (Horror Classic) (Annotated)Arthur Machen3h 10m3.8 (23.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Hill of Dreams (Annotated)Arthur Machen7h 45m4.0 (1.8K)$2 · $0.00
The Angels of Mons: The Bowmen and Other Legends of the WarArthur Machen1h 10m3.7 (208)$1 · $0.00
The Great ReturnArthur Machen2h3.7 (552)$1 · $0.00
The Novel of the Black SealArthur Machen2h 22m3.9 (450)$2 · $0.00
DRACULA (Annotated)Bram Stoker17h 36m4.5 (6.9K)$0.99 · $0.00
Treasure Island (Adventure Classic with Illustrations)Robert Louis Stevenson8h 50m4.5 (11.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Uncensored 13 Chapter Version + The Revised 20 Chapter Version (Annotated)Oscar Wilde16h 12m4.5 (2.8K)$0.99 · $0.00
THE CTHULHU MYTHOS TALES (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft22h 46m4.5 (16.9K)$2 · $0.00
The Undead PoolKim Harrison16h 13m4.4 (34.6K)$33 · $0.00
Glacier's EdgeR. A. Salvatore13h 44m4.5 (3.4K)$33 · $0.00
Good OmensNeil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett12h 33m4.4 (1.1M)$33 · $0.00
Dark of NightJonathan Maberry, Rachael Lavin4h 59m4.4 (3.8K)$20 · $0.00
The Renegade HunterLynsay Sands10h 7m4.4 (17.3K)$29 · $0.00
Lost GodsBrom14h 50m4.4 (18.5K)$33 · $0.00
Jane Eyre (Unabridged)Charlotte Brontë22h 9m4.3 (2.6M)$1.99 · $0.00
The AccusedJana DeLeon6h 32m4.4 (3.9K)$12 · $0.00
Corpus HermeticumHermes Trismegistus3h 43m4.4 (8.6K)$7 · $0.00
LambChristopher Moore15h 22m4.3 (211.3K)$33 · $0.00
CARMILLA (Gothic Classic) (Annotated)Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu4h 2m4.4 (1K)$0.99 · $0.00
The ExorcistWilliam Peter Blatty12h 52m4.3 (285.9K)$8 · $0.00
Lost ValleyWalt Browning7h 47m4.3 (5.4K)$20 · $0.00
Twice TemptedJeaniene Frost8h 17m4.3 (54.8K)$26 · $0.00
Scared to BreatheKerena Swan10h 56m4.4 (1.7K)$13.60 · $0.00
1984George Orwell12h 18m4.3 (6M)$25 · $0.00
You may also like
Witch WoodJohn Buchan11h 25m4.0 (581)$20
RelicsTim Lebbon11h 26m3.7 (3.1K)$20
The MadnessDawn Kurtagich11h 27m3.7 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
Pickman's ModelH. P. Lovecraft37m4.1 (7.3K)$2.30
Don't Breathe A WordJennifer McMahon12h3.7 (20.1K)$29 · $0.00
Secret AgendasJonathan Maberry13h 18m4.1 (557)$23
The House of SoulsArthur Machen8h 17m4.0 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
The House of SoulsArthur Machen8h 53m4.0 (1.2K)$2.30
Sherlock Holmes and Count DraculaChristian Klaver12h 4m3.8 (1.8K)$23
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDERobert Louis Stevenson4h 20m4.0 (794.5K)$1.99 · $0.00
THE THREE IMPOSTORS (Dark Fantasy Classic)Arthur Machen6h 19m3.9 (2.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
Pickman's modelH. P. Lovecraft33m3.8 (5.1K)$2 · $0.00
Carmilla: Part ThreeJ. Sheridan Le Fanu50m4.6 (2.5K)$2.99 · $0.00
The FestivalH. P. Lovecraft24m3.6 (4.1K)$2.30
City of Saints and MadmenJeff VanderMeer11h 55m4.1 (26.2K)$23 · $0.00
The Three Impostors; or, The Transmutations (Annotated)Arthur Machen5h 58m3.9 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Horror at Red HookH. P. Lovecraft56m3.5 (14K)$2.40
The ShapeshiftersStefan Spjut14h 19m3.5 (3K)$23
THE WEIRD TALES - Horror & Macabre CollectionArthur Machen29h 14m$1 · $0.00
THE WEIRD TALES - Horror & Macabre CollectionArthur Machen30h 5m4.2 (42)$2 · $0.00