Mike and Will take a cruise across the pond in the good ship Kamchatka – but who’s hiding in The Upper Berth? Joining us to narrate F. Marion Crawford’s classic tale is reader Rupert Simons, who tells us that he’s found a cheap cabin for his trip from The Hook to Harwich next week…
Show notes:
- F. Marion Crawford was a very successful writer who penned comparatively few ghost stories and as chiefly known for his historical novels.
- The Upper Berth was originally published in “The Broken Shaft: Tales in Mid-Ocean”, an anthology of tales told by passengers on a stranded ocean liner. Friend of the show Dewi Evans (whom we interviewed at JamesCon in Episode 51) has written an excellent post about this collection on his blog.
- Ruthanna Emrys and Anne Pillsworth have written an excellent essay on this story, mentioned in our show. Anne suggests that “Bertie” is the ghost of a man who justs wants the bed for which he paid!
- There is a short film adaptation of ‘The Upper Berth’ by Mansfield Dark. You can watch it online but it’s also available as an extra on the DVD ‘The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance’.
- Our fabulous cover art came from illustrator and designer Mike Godwin, whose website is full of wonderful things and links to his Etsy shop.
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We’re back! This week Mike and Will descend gingerly into a gloomy railway cutting to investigate Charles Dickens’ The Signal-Man. Dickens dissects the harsh realities of life in industrial Britain, but can he also deliver a pleasing terror and a locomotive-sized Jamesian Wallop? (spoiler: yes, in spades)
Show notes:
- Higham Station was the closest to Dickens’ home at Gads Hill Place and he’d have had plenty of time to contemplate it’s formidable tunnel.
- Fatal crashes and accidents were by no means rare in the early days of the railways. Dickens was himself involved in a hideous rail crash while in the company of his mistress and her mother, as memorialised in the picture above. Mike mentioned hearing about the Thirsk rail disaster on the excellent podcast Note to Self – he didn’t, but admits it was actually on a lecture about sleep on BBC Radio 3.
- An approachable essay on Dickens and the Trauma of Technology, which covers some of the main themes of the story.
- Oldstyle Tales Press have released a wonderful edition of Dickens’ ghost stories with great footnotes and illustrations (disclaimer – we were kindly sent a couple of free copies by the lovely editor, Michael Grant Kellermeyer).
- Another slim edition worth getting hold of is by Profile Books, which includes the incredibly funny story The Boy At Mugby Junction – I would like to say that railway catering has improved in the UK, but it’s only by degrees.
- And of course, please check out the BFI Ghost Story for Christmas DVD, including LGC’s dramatisation of the Signal-Man.
- Huge thanks to our reader this week, Mike’s very own father in law… Mike. Yes, it gets confusing.
Finally, a huge apology from me (Mike) for the delay in getting this out – we ain’t dead yet!
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It’s back to school this week as Mike and Will pack their tuckboxes and top hats and join Monty for the first part of his memoir “Eton and King’s: recollections, mostly trivial”. How will James deal with the traditions and quirks of Eton? Will he avoid a midnight wedgy? And who exactly is the mysterious Goat Sucker?
Links:
- Eton and King’s is readily available from Ash Tree Press as an ebook.
- Mike and Will at Temple Grove School (it’s changed a bit since Monty’s day). More on his prep school in our episode on “A School Story“.
- A glossary of Eton terms, for the initiated.
- HE Luxmoore was an Eton master for 44 years. He was MRJ’s tutor and perhaps the biggest influence on him besides his father.
- Our cover art by, of course, Alistair Wood – do have a look at his new website!
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