The Three Impostors: An Illustrated Edition with Author Biography, Summary and Character Guide

By: Arthur Machen

Illustrated edition - 20 evocative, vintage-style illustrationsIncludes a crisp summary for quick orientationHandy characters list (spoiler-light) for easy referenceBrief author biography of Arthur Machen

A labyrinth of masks, mysteries, and the occult-set in gaslit London.

Arthur Machen's classic 1895 thriller unfolds like a puzzle box: three elegant strangers drift through London, spinning mesmerizing tales that seem like chance anecdotes-until they snap together around a sinister hunt for a nameless young man. From quiet squares and book-stalls to shadowed clubs and shabby lodgings, the city becomes a living map of secrets, where folklore seeps through the cracks of modern life.

Inside this edition you'll find Machen's most celebrated embedded tales-"The Novel of the Black Seal" and "The Novel of the White Powder"-stories of forbidden knowledge, ancient survivals, and a "harmless" remedy that curdles into horror. The result is urban Gothic at its most elegant: witty on the surface, dreamlike underneath, and unforgettable when the pieces finally lock into place.

What it's really about

Identity and imposture; the thinness of polite society; and the thrilling notion that ordinary streets can open onto older, stranger worlds.

Perfect for fans of Gothic mysteries, occult fiction, urban fantasy roots, and the elegant dread of writers like Robert Louis Stevenson and H. P. Lovecraft.

Step into London's maze. Every story is a clue. Every encounter, a mask. And somewhere behind it all, the truth waits-watching.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 7612807734
• ISBN13: 9787612807739
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Micheal Smith
• Length: 490 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.0" x 5.5"