
TALES OF THE WONDER CLUB. - BY DRYASDUST
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
INTRODUCTION. - A Peep at the Wonder Club.
CHAPTER I. - The Phantom Flea.—The Lawyer's Story.
CHAPTER II. - The Spirit Lovers.—The Doctor's Story.
CHAPTER III. - Containing Mr. Parnassus's Poem, The Glacier King.
The Glacier King.
CHAPTER IV. - The Mermaid Palace; or, Captain Toughyarn's Dream.
Song of the Wonder Club.
CHAPTER V. - The Headless Lady.—The Artist's First Story.
In a snug corner of the Midlands, an ancient inn bearing the curious sign of “Ye Headless Lady” shelters a secret fellowship. The landlord, Jack Hearty, watches the crossroads with a pipe‑filled grin, ever ready to welcome the nightly arrivals of the Wonder Club—doctors, lawyers, chemists and other genteel spirits who guard their meetings behind ivy‑clad walls. Their gatherings are bound by strict rules: no businessmen, no politics, only the pleasure of sharing stories in a room that feels as timeless as the building itself.
Each member takes a turn spinning a tale that drifts from the mischievous “Phantom Fleat” to the haunting “Spirit Leg,” from a mermaid’s palace to a dwarf‑guided mountain trek. The narratives weave humor, mystery and a touch of the supernatural, all framed by the club’s warm, conspiratorial atmosphere. Listeners are invited to slip into this intimate circle, where imagination runs free and every story feels like a whispered secret in the flickering glow of the inn’s lanterns.
Language
en
Duration
~9 hours (544K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2010-09-09
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1838–1914
Best known for eerie and imaginative tales, this late-Victorian writer published supernatural fiction under the pen names M. Y. Halidom and Dryasdust. His stories blend ghostly atmosphere, fantasy, and a storyteller’s love of strange turns.
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