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The Well

W. W. Jacobs

First published 1902
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story

Wilfred Carr blackmails his cousin Jem Benson and promptly disappears. Soon after, Jem is strolling with his fiancee Olive in the manor grounds and she insists (against his will) on visiting the old well and sitting on its edge. She thinks she hears a voice whisper "Jem, help me out," then accidentally drops her bracelet in the well. Jem says he will take care of retrieving it...

From "The Lady of the Barge", Harper, 1902

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
1902 Cover The Lady of the Barge Harper & Brothers Collection 80
February 1927 The Argosy, February 1927 Cassell's MAGAZINE 87
July 1931 Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror, Second Series Gollancz Anthology 833
1932 The Second Omnibus of Crime Coward-McCann Anthology
July 1932 Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror, Second Series Gollancz Anthology 833
1935 Cover A Century of Thrillers: Second Series Daily Express Publications Anthology 389
January 1937 Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror, Second Series Gollancz Anthology 833
June 1939 The Second Omnibus of Crime: The World's Great Crime Stories Blue Ribbon Books Anthology
August 1943 Cover The Lady of the Barge Penguin Books Collection
April 1946 Cover And the Darkness Falls World Publishing Co. Anthology 398
January 1948 Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror, Second Series Gollancz Anthology 833
February 1949 Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror, Second Series Gollancz Anthology 833
1951 Cover In the Grip of Terror Permabooks Anthology 215
1957 Cover Griezelverhalen Bruna Anthology 173
1961 Cover Griezelverhalen Bruna Anthology 173
1979 Cover The Twelfth Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories Fontana Anthology 124
1980 Cover Ghost Stories Octopus Books Anthology 187
1981 Cover Ghost Stories Octopus Books Anthology 187
1983 Cover The Monkey's Paw Boydell Press Collection
January 1984 Cover Spooky Tales Octopus Books Anthology 166
1987 Horror Stories Hamlyn Anthology 135
October 1993 Cover Tales of Horror and Mystery Dean & Son Anthology 137
October 1994 Cover Thrillers: A Classic Collection Bracken Books Anthology 263
1996 Cover Thrillers: A Classic Collection Leopard Anthology 263
1997 Cover The Monkey's Paw and Other Tales of Mystery and the Macabre Academy Chicago Collection 31
April 2004 The Lady of the Barge Project Gutenberg Collection
2006 Cover Vintage Mystery and Detective Stories Wordsworth Editions Anthology 433
February 2006 Cover The Ash-Tree Press Annual Macabre 2005: Haven't I Read This Before? Ash-Tree Press Anthology 32
April 2010 Cover The Lady of the Barge Forgotten Books Collection 79
2011 Cover The Body-Snatcher and Other Classic Ghost Stories Fall River Press Anthology 288
September 2011 Cover Short Ghost and Horror Story Collection 14 LibriVox Anthology |4
May 2013 Cover The Lady of the Barge Moran Press Collection
April 2014 Cover The Third Macabre Megapack Wildside Press Anthology
July 2016 Cover Murder Mayhem Short Stories Flame Tree Publishing Anthology 275
November 2016 Cover Murder Mayhem Short Stories Flame Tree Publishing Anthology |275
June 2018 Cover Twin Spirits: The Complete Weird Stories of W. W. Jacobs Hippocampus Press Collection 99
October 2022 Cover The Monkey's Paw and Other Horrors: The Best Horror and Ghost Stories of W.W. Jacobs Oldstyle Tales Press Collection 155