Citadel of Fear

Two adventurers, prospecting for gold in the jungles of Mexico, stumble across a lost Aztec city and cause an ancient evil to be unleashed. An early science fiction masterpiece written by Gertrude Barrows Bennett, writing as Francis Stevens.

Discovering a lost city in the Mexican jungle, two adventurers embark on a terrifying journey. Disturbing ancient gods and nightmare creatures, they find a hidden civilization of Aztecs and bring dark magic into the modern world. With a potent cocktail of romance, revenge and swampish evil this book is one of the earliest examples of fantasy and remains an enthralling read. Gertrude Barrows Bennett, writing as Francis Stevens, is often regarded as the founder of dark fantasy and was admired by H.P. Lovecraft amongst many, with some ranking her alongside Mary Shelley in impact and imaginative power.

Flame Tree 451 presents a new series, The Foundations of Feminist Fiction. The early 1900s saw a quiet revolution in literature dominated by male adventure heroes. Both men and women moved beyond the norms of the male gaze to write from a different gender perspective, sometimes with female protagonists, but also expressing the universal freedom to write on any subject whatsoever. Each book features a brand new biography and a new glossary of Literary, Gothic and Victorian terms.

About the Author

Dubbed ‘the founder of dark fantasy’, Minneapolis-born Gertrude Barrows Bennett (1884–1948), writing as Francis Stevens, influenced H.P. Lovecraft and has been ranked alongside Mary Shelley. Her pioneering novels include the lost world story The Citadel of Fear (1918), the dystopian The Heads of Cerberus (1919) and the atmospheric Claimed (1920).