This episode Will and Mike are thrilled to be joined by top M.R. James scholar and author Helen Grant to help them struggle their way through unfinished M.R. James story fragment ‘Marcilly-le-Hayer‘.

Thanks to our readers this episode, Tom Hemmings and Debbie Wedge.

Show notes:

• Marcilly-le-Hayer map (Monty’s World)
  You can view the eponymous French town on our mapping app Monty’s World.
• Postcards of Marcilly-le-Hayer (www.famille-bretet.net)
  This website contains a great number of period postcards and photos of Marcilly-le-Hayer.
• Story notes by Rosemary Pardoe  (Ghosts & Scholars)
  Rosemary Pardoe has provides some very useful notes on this story, including translations of the French passages.
• Places I have tried to visit: Marcilly-le-Hayer (Helen Grant)
  This is the excellent article that prompted us to invite Helen to be our co-host. First published in Ghosts & Scholars, this article describes Helen’s visit to Marcilly-le-Hayer and her search for the locations featured in the story.
• ‘Caroline de Litchfield’ by Donald Tumasonis (Ghosts & Scholars)
  In this article Tumasonis examines the real novel which James features in this story (albeit with a slightly mangled title!).
• M.R. James and France by Percy Lubbock (Google books)
  Percy Lubbock’s all-to breif memoir of M.R. James features some revealing and entertaining insights into some of James’ many holidays in France.
• Stories I have tried to write by M.R. James (The Albion Chronicles)
  In his essay ‘Stories I have tried to write’ M.R. James describes various stories which never reached publication, including one which is unmistakably ‘Marcilly-le-Hayer’.
• A Whisper in the Ear by Sheila Hodgson (Youtube)
  Between 1976 and 1992 Sheila Hodgson wrote a number of stories for radio which were inspired by the stories mentioned in M.R. James’ essay ‘Stories I have tried to write’. This one is based on the fragment of ‘Marcilly-e-Hayer’ mentioned in that essay. The others can be purchases in ebook form.

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This episode Mike & Will examine John Humphreys. No, not the newsreader, the unfinished story draft by M.R. James!

The most complete version of the manuscript, as transcribed by Rosemary Pardoe, can be read online at the Ghosts & Scholars Website.

Big thanks for the readings goes to Kirsty W… no wait, Kirsty Taylor! Also thanks to Alisdair Wood to the excellent M.R. James image to the right. Don’t forget to check out his T-shirts at zazzle.com.

Show notes:

• The Vale Royal of England (Wikipedia)
  This story is set in ‘Perhaps the Vale Royal of England’, an area in north Cheshire. Also have a look at the area on our own Monty’s World.
• Stories I Have Tried to Write by M.R. James
  The plot of this story gets a mention by James in his essay ‘Stories I Have Tried to Write’ which we covered in a previous episode.
• Sinister Bible Quotes (Bible.cc)
  Like many James stories, John Humphreys quotes the bible in a number of places, notable the 23rd Psalm, Jeremiah xiii:16, Job x:21-22 and the Vulgate of St Jerome.
• Saint Cyprian and Saint Justina (Wikipedia)
  This story contains a reference to a ‘wizard’, apparently a reference to the story of St Cyprian and St Justina in the Golden Legend.
• … also mentioned in this episode were the Garbage Pail Kids and Bookshelf P*rn.

Also, we’d love to hear what you think about this story! Get in contact via Facebook, Twitter, Email or in the comments section below.

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