{"id":757,"date":"2019-02-14T09:25:47","date_gmt":"2019-02-14T09:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hebulstrode.co.uk\/?p=757"},"modified":"2019-02-14T09:25:55","modified_gmt":"2019-02-14T09:25:55","slug":"lost-hearts-by-m-r-james","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hebulstrode.co.uk\/?p=757","title":{"rendered":"Lost Hearts by M.R. James"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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An essential volume for any lover of ghost stories.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is, perhaps, not so serendipitous that the reading matter for the M.R. James Ghost Stories Discussion Group this Valentine\u2019s Day should happen to be the second of James\u2019s stories, Lost Hearts<\/em>. However, the reader would be very much mistaken if they happened to take this for a romance of some sort, for it is anything but. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with a number of James\u2019s works,\nthis tale unfolds within the atmospheric confines of an isolated country house\nof a \u2018modest\u2019 grandeur, with its cast of characters limited to its proprietor,\nthe eccentric Mr Abney, his two servants, and a new arrival, his recently\norphaned and much younger cousin, Stephen Elliott. At first, Mr Abney would\nappear to be a kindly gentleman of an esoteric scholarly bent, a confirmed\nbachelor who is now rather advanced in years, but as time passes, it becomes\napparent that his concern for the welfare of his young cousin is not quite as\ndisinterested as it might at first have appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strange and disquieting nocturnal\nvisions and impressions are deftly conveyed by James\u2019s pen, conjuring up a\nfrisson of unease that does not dissipate until the final scene. The servants\nseem to know a little more than they let on, but it is when young Master Elliott\nlistens to the recollections of Mrs Bunch concerning two other children who had\ntaken up but a temporary<\/em> residence at\nAswarby Hall, that the significance of these spiritual visitations begins to\nbecome apparent. A reek of the sinister hangs about the place, in the form of the\nGnostic beliefs, hermetic magic and ritual practised by Mr Abney. A glass of\nwine set aside for the vernal equinox is not, it would appear, a mere innocent\nlibation in celebration of the turning of the seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lost Hearts<\/em> was adapted for television by the BBC in 1973, with its version faithfully adhering to the text, although it deviates in one or two respects to make clear some elements of the story set at night that would not have otherwise been easy to convey on-screen. It is an atmospheric piece, enhanced by its use of music, including that of the hurdy-gurdy. Sadly, the actor who played young Master Elliott was to meet a tragic end at an early age, for Simon Gipps-Kent was found dead of morphine poisoning at the age of 28 in September 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lost Hearts<\/em> is included in the Collected Ghost Stories<\/em><\/a> of M.R. James, published in a Wordsworth edition for the bargain price of \u00a32.99. It\u2019s one of my favourite volumes. <\/p>\n

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