The Staircase in the Woods

Urban fantasy might sound like a relatively new subgenre of fiction, but scholars identify Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula as early examples. Subverting the common convention of fantasy stories that are linked to sylvan settings, urban fantasies often take place in or near cityscapes or other human-made locales, while also tapping into archetypes of the eternal, paranormal, and deeply powerful that exist outside the scope of typical human understanding: “At its best, urban fantasy is not only enthralling. It offers a new way to understand our own urban existence” (March-Russell, Paul. “Urban Fantasy Novels: Why They Matter and Which Ones to Read First.” The Conversation, 18 May 2020). This is what happens in The Staircase in the Woods, the action of which begins in the forest of Bucks County, outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and resumes in a forest outside of Boston, Massachusetts.

In the novel, the combination of the post-World War II housing boom that led to rapid suburbanization and the deeply profound trauma caused by the war coalesced to create an environment in which despair and violence prosper. Veterans like Alfie Shawcatch came home and attempted to find a form of “peace” away from the horrors in concentration camps and on the battlefield.