Book excerpt: Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814 –1873) was an Irish writer of Gothic novels, one of the most infl uential ghost story writers of the nineteenth century. “The Tenants of Malory” is the sensation novel about two feuding families, Verney and Fanshawe, and their ambiguous relationship. Arthur, Lord Verney’s nephew, cannot choose between his feelings to Margaret Fanshawe and for his benefi t. Through this novel, the author asks a question – how many moral principles is a person willing to sacrifi ce for a brief sense of superiority?