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The Ghost Downstairs
A bargain of a lifetime - seven years off the end of his life in exchange for a fortune now!By day, Mr Fast was a solicitor's clerk, drawing up strangle-tight agreements and contracts. By night he repaired to his rooms to spy upon his neighbours (for he had no friends) and to dream of being richer than other men. But when old Mr FIshbane offers him what he most desires in return for seven years off the end of his life, he could never imagine the little lost spectre that will come to haunt him . . .Another remarkable novel from Leon Garfield.
91 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
2 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Leon Garfield
119 books49 followersLeon Garfield FRSL (14 July 1921 – 2 June 1996) was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for children's historical novels, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books and scripted Shakespeare: The Animated Tales for television.
Garfield attended Brighton Grammar School (1932-1938) and went on to study art at Regent Street Polytechnic, but his studies were interrupted first by lack of funds for fees, then by the outbreak of World War II. He married Lena Leah Davies in April, 1941, at Golders Green Synagogue but they separated after only a few months. For his service in the war he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. While posted in Belgium he met Vivien Alcock, then an ambulance driver, who would go on to become his second wife (in 1948) and a well-known children's author. She would also greatly influence Garfield's writing, giving him suggestions for his writing, including the original idea for Smith. After the war Garfield worked as a biochemical laboratory technician at the Whittington Hospital in Islington, writing in his spare time until the 1960s, when he was successful enough to write full-time. In 1964, the couple adopted a baby girl, called Jane after Jane Austen, a favourite writer of both parents.
Garfield wrote his first book, the pirate novel Jack Holborn, for adult readers but a Constable & Co. editor saw its potential as a children's novel and persuaded him to adapt it for a younger audience. In that form it was published by Constable in 1964. His second book, Devil-in-the-Fog (1966), won the first annual Guardian Prize and was serialised for television, as were several later works (below). Devil was the first of several historical adventure novels, typically set late in the eighteenth century and featuring a character of humble origins (in this case a boy from a family of traveling actors) pushed into the midst of a threatening intrigue. Another was Smith (1967), with the eponymous hero a young pickpocket accepted into a wealthy household; it won the Phoenix Award in 1987. Yet another was Black Jack (1968), in which a young apprentice is forced by accident and his conscience to accompany a murderous criminal.
In 1970, Garfield's work started to move in new directions with The God Beneath the Sea, a re-telling of numerous Greek myths in one narrative, written by Garfield and Edward Blishen and illustrated by Charles Keeping. It won the annual Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Garfield, Blishen, and Keeping collaborated again on a sequel, The Golden Shadow (1973). The Drummer Boy (1970) was another adventure story, but concerned more with a central moral problem, and apparently aimed at somewhat older readers, a trend continued in The Prisoners of September (1975) republished in 1989 by Lions Tracks, under the title Revolution!, The Pleasure Garden (1976) and The Confidence Man (1978). The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1972) was a black comedy in which two boys decide to test the plausibility of Romulus and Remus using one of the boys' baby sister. Most notable at the time was a series of linked long short stories about apprentices, published separately between 1976 and 1978, and then as a collection, The Apprentices. The more adult themed books of the mid-1970s met with a mixed reception and Garfield returned to the model of his earlier books with John Diamond, which won a Whitbread Award in 1980, and The December Rose (1986). In 1980 he also wrote an ending for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished at the 1870 death of Dickens, an author who had been a major influence on Garfield's own style.
He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1985. On 2 June 1996 he died of cancer at the Whittington Hospital, where he had once worked.
Garfield attended Brighton Grammar School (1932-1938) and went on to study art at Regent Street Polytechnic, but his studies were interrupted first by lack of funds for fees, then by the outbreak of World War II. He married Lena Leah Davies in April, 1941, at Golders Green Synagogue but they separated after only a few months. For his service in the war he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. While posted in Belgium he met Vivien Alcock, then an ambulance driver, who would go on to become his second wife (in 1948) and a well-known children's author. She would also greatly influence Garfield's writing, giving him suggestions for his writing, including the original idea for Smith. After the war Garfield worked as a biochemical laboratory technician at the Whittington Hospital in Islington, writing in his spare time until the 1960s, when he was successful enough to write full-time. In 1964, the couple adopted a baby girl, called Jane after Jane Austen, a favourite writer of both parents.
Garfield wrote his first book, the pirate novel Jack Holborn, for adult readers but a Constable & Co. editor saw its potential as a children's novel and persuaded him to adapt it for a younger audience. In that form it was published by Constable in 1964. His second book, Devil-in-the-Fog (1966), won the first annual Guardian Prize and was serialised for television, as were several later works (below). Devil was the first of several historical adventure novels, typically set late in the eighteenth century and featuring a character of humble origins (in this case a boy from a family of traveling actors) pushed into the midst of a threatening intrigue. Another was Smith (1967), with the eponymous hero a young pickpocket accepted into a wealthy household; it won the Phoenix Award in 1987. Yet another was Black Jack (1968), in which a young apprentice is forced by accident and his conscience to accompany a murderous criminal.
In 1970, Garfield's work started to move in new directions with The God Beneath the Sea, a re-telling of numerous Greek myths in one narrative, written by Garfield and Edward Blishen and illustrated by Charles Keeping. It won the annual Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Garfield, Blishen, and Keeping collaborated again on a sequel, The Golden Shadow (1973). The Drummer Boy (1970) was another adventure story, but concerned more with a central moral problem, and apparently aimed at somewhat older readers, a trend continued in The Prisoners of September (1975) republished in 1989 by Lions Tracks, under the title Revolution!, The Pleasure Garden (1976) and The Confidence Man (1978). The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1972) was a black comedy in which two boys decide to test the plausibility of Romulus and Remus using one of the boys' baby sister. Most notable at the time was a series of linked long short stories about apprentices, published separately between 1976 and 1978, and then as a collection, The Apprentices. The more adult themed books of the mid-1970s met with a mixed reception and Garfield returned to the model of his earlier books with John Diamond, which won a Whitbread Award in 1980, and The December Rose (1986). In 1980 he also wrote an ending for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished at the 1870 death of Dickens, an author who had been a major influence on Garfield's own style.
He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1985. On 2 June 1996 he died of cancer at the Whittington Hospital, where he had once worked.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 20, 2023
I know what this is going to be like, I thought smugly. It’s Leon Garfield so will be heavily Dickensian and have a frisson of Victorian horror to it but ultimately be a bit cosy because it’s a kid’s book
Reader. How wrong I was
Yes, it‘a Dickensian - Garfield almost always is - but it’s Dickensian in a way that essentially asks “what if you could invert a Christmas Carol and somehow end it with the Signalman”? It most reminds me of the cataclysmic final minutes of Dead of Night… a few bits of light gothic horror suddenly snaps into a brilliantly dark central idea about halfway through, which then descends into bracingly expressionistic weirdness for the final few pages. It’s ambiguously hopeful at the end, but goes through some dark places to get there. I suspect a lot of children would have been mystified by it but the ones who loved it would never forget a page of it. Extraordinary stuff
Reader. How wrong I was
Yes, it‘a Dickensian - Garfield almost always is - but it’s Dickensian in a way that essentially asks “what if you could invert a Christmas Carol and somehow end it with the Signalman”? It most reminds me of the cataclysmic final minutes of Dead of Night… a few bits of light gothic horror suddenly snaps into a brilliantly dark central idea about halfway through, which then descends into bracingly expressionistic weirdness for the final few pages. It’s ambiguously hopeful at the end, but goes through some dark places to get there. I suspect a lot of children would have been mystified by it but the ones who loved it would never forget a page of it. Extraordinary stuff
August 24, 2018
Although ‘The Ghost Downstairs’ is one of Leon Garfield’s shorter books and presented with wonderfully atmospheric illustrations by Antony Maitland (who worked a lot with Garfield), I can’t imagine it’s much of a book for children. Set in the mid 19th century, it tells the story of Mr Fast selling his soul to the devil - sort of.
The first line is a gripping one and explains the character well;
‘Two devils lived in Mr Fast: envy and loneliness.” Rather than Garfield’s usual young boy protagonist, Fast is a clerk in a solicitor’s office who’s chief pleasure is in drawing airtight contracts that no-one can wriggle out of. This sets him in good stead when the mysterious Mr Fishbane offers to draw up a document that offers him his heart’s desire for a price. Mr Fast calculates that a million pounds would be able to procure him all other desires and in exchange he agrees to pay seven years off his life. The twist is, that he specifies that those seven years should come from the first half of his life, so when he gains his million, he feels that he’s got away scot-free.
This isn’t exactly what happens though. So many of his desires, dreams and personality were formed by those first seven years that he has absolutely no idea what he wanted the million pounds for. What’s more, that child is coalescing into the ghostly form of a seven-year-old boy in a sailor suit that he sees around.
The rest is a succession of creepy stalking and ghostly chases - not that the ghost is chasing him, but he is chasing it to find out what desires he has. Within eighty pages, the book comes to an explosive end.
Aside from Garfield’s writing, which is consistently at it’s strangest and most interesting, I liked all the reversals in what should have been a pretty normal Faust retelling. The robbing of his childhood was haunting and the notion that he has to stalk the ghost felt fresh and new. The evocation of Victorian London with its smoke and fog, the dome of Saint Paul’s looming in the background added another level of atmosphere and intrigue and the moment where Fast realised what he actually wanted was very poignant.
I’d say this is one of Garfield’s best.
The first line is a gripping one and explains the character well;
‘Two devils lived in Mr Fast: envy and loneliness.” Rather than Garfield’s usual young boy protagonist, Fast is a clerk in a solicitor’s office who’s chief pleasure is in drawing airtight contracts that no-one can wriggle out of. This sets him in good stead when the mysterious Mr Fishbane offers to draw up a document that offers him his heart’s desire for a price. Mr Fast calculates that a million pounds would be able to procure him all other desires and in exchange he agrees to pay seven years off his life. The twist is, that he specifies that those seven years should come from the first half of his life, so when he gains his million, he feels that he’s got away scot-free.
This isn’t exactly what happens though. So many of his desires, dreams and personality were formed by those first seven years that he has absolutely no idea what he wanted the million pounds for. What’s more, that child is coalescing into the ghostly form of a seven-year-old boy in a sailor suit that he sees around.
The rest is a succession of creepy stalking and ghostly chases - not that the ghost is chasing him, but he is chasing it to find out what desires he has. Within eighty pages, the book comes to an explosive end.
Aside from Garfield’s writing, which is consistently at it’s strangest and most interesting, I liked all the reversals in what should have been a pretty normal Faust retelling. The robbing of his childhood was haunting and the notion that he has to stalk the ghost felt fresh and new. The evocation of Victorian London with its smoke and fog, the dome of Saint Paul’s looming in the background added another level of atmosphere and intrigue and the moment where Fast realised what he actually wanted was very poignant.
I’d say this is one of Garfield’s best.
August 22, 2018
I was gripped and drawn in from the first passage. It's so masterfully written that (to quote a passage from the book) 'the words danced off the page'. Leon's dry, cynical observations are hilarious – particularly when describing London’s legal world and those in the profession.
Although the story focuses on two main characters - the old man and the scheming young clerk - Leon really gets us a sense of the spirit of London and the people. We can practically smell the beetroot soup that rises and fills the protagonists house. Along with the leather upholstery and the bindings from the endless books than cram the shelves of the legal inns. We get a glimpse of the overwhelming complexities and vortex of the law. We can see the grime and seediness of the people and surroundings and we can feel the shabbiness of the thrashed out furniture. The setting is further enhanced by the flavor of the period.
Although this is about the supernatural it’s remarkably restrained and realistic. The characters are painfully convincing enabling us to relate and sympathize with them. Their flaws mirror our own.
It's refreshing to read a children's story by a proper author - by that I mean one whose writing speaks for itself. Leon is a highly gifted and doesn’t need to hide behind outlandish plots, glib adventures and so-called ‘magical’ characters. The book’s virtues are the keen eye of the author along with the talent to provide imaginative similes and very witty descriptions and depictions.
It is aimed at children but I feel that only adults and sophisticated teenagers will truly appreciate it. Through the downfall of the greedy clerk we learn about ourselves and the world about us. We are forced to ask ourselves if we are any better than the scheming ambitious clerk and if all we desire is really what is good for us.
A penetrating, very funny, original, and beautifully written book.
Although the story focuses on two main characters - the old man and the scheming young clerk - Leon really gets us a sense of the spirit of London and the people. We can practically smell the beetroot soup that rises and fills the protagonists house. Along with the leather upholstery and the bindings from the endless books than cram the shelves of the legal inns. We get a glimpse of the overwhelming complexities and vortex of the law. We can see the grime and seediness of the people and surroundings and we can feel the shabbiness of the thrashed out furniture. The setting is further enhanced by the flavor of the period.
Although this is about the supernatural it’s remarkably restrained and realistic. The characters are painfully convincing enabling us to relate and sympathize with them. Their flaws mirror our own.
It's refreshing to read a children's story by a proper author - by that I mean one whose writing speaks for itself. Leon is a highly gifted and doesn’t need to hide behind outlandish plots, glib adventures and so-called ‘magical’ characters. The book’s virtues are the keen eye of the author along with the talent to provide imaginative similes and very witty descriptions and depictions.
It is aimed at children but I feel that only adults and sophisticated teenagers will truly appreciate it. Through the downfall of the greedy clerk we learn about ourselves and the world about us. We are forced to ask ourselves if we are any better than the scheming ambitious clerk and if all we desire is really what is good for us.
A penetrating, very funny, original, and beautifully written book.
July 1, 2017
Initially 4 stars because of style; but on completion, 3 because of an untethering interest.
The publisher's credit in the inside cover compared Garfield's style to Dickens - a bold claim. But it is valid. It laughs with wisdom, just as Dickens does; it stands two paces back in its judgement, just as Dickens does; it evokes a grimy, gloomy atmosphere, just as Dickens does; and it is eloquent, just as Dickens is.
Yet, unlike Dickens, who leaves you with a feeling in the end that, in his wise summation, though all is not at all well with the world, we are united in his humanity, Garfield leaves you slightly chilled, slightly spooked by the alienation that runs through this strange little story.
The publisher's credit in the inside cover compared Garfield's style to Dickens - a bold claim. But it is valid. It laughs with wisdom, just as Dickens does; it stands two paces back in its judgement, just as Dickens does; it evokes a grimy, gloomy atmosphere, just as Dickens does; and it is eloquent, just as Dickens is.
Yet, unlike Dickens, who leaves you with a feeling in the end that, in his wise summation, though all is not at all well with the world, we are united in his humanity, Garfield leaves you slightly chilled, slightly spooked by the alienation that runs through this strange little story.
February 22, 2019
A somewhat cautionary tale of a lack therein of a man's character. Greed being the focal point of Mr. Fast is what consumes his thoughts and actions on a daily basis. How meeting the devil ultimately transforms his character through supernatural events is quite the thrilling read. Recommended.
July 25, 2019
Very Dickensian, but it lost my interest half-through.
March 29, 2020
Elegant prose. The book starts really well, the first two chapters were the best, but then it lost momentum. What are really liked were the
illustrations :)
illustrations :)
April 12, 2023
Strange little book , quite disturbing in parts .
Can’t see children of today reading it as the language would be too descriptive and formal.
Can’t see children of today reading it as the language would be too descriptive and formal.
September 15, 2024
Amazing pictures, but I would say it's seriously miserable...sort of like scrooge but it ends badly and you feel very sorry for the guy. And Dennis obviously. Not a keeper.
December 26, 2024
The drawings were cool but the story was confusing
December 8, 2016
Short story about Mr. Fast who is a money hungry, power obsessed lawyer's clerk - who makes a Faustian pact with a strange stinking old man who dwells in the basement and boils endless beetroots to make soup. He surrenders 7 years off his life in return for becoming a millionaire - but at a cost.
Thinking himself wonderfully clever, Mr. Fast writes the small print of the document which is drawn up between them - not specifying which part of his life the 7 years are to be taken from. As a result Mr. Fishbane (the beetroot soup boiling basement dweller) takes the first 7 years of his life, and Mr. Fast loses that part of him, along with his hopes and childhood dreams and memories. His childhood is literally embodied in the form of the phantom 'Dennis' - the junior Mr. Fast, who lurks and haunts him (in a guise similar to the youth in Mann's 'Death in Venice') until he is driven to an untimely demise.
Short and intense, this is a stark and whimsical cautionary tale of greed vs. character. Quite adult in many ways, and I enjoyed this a great deal more than 'Smith' which I read a few months ago. Has a moral to it in a similar vein to Dicken's 'A Christmas Carol' - ultimately Mr. Fast realises there is more to life than money and wealth and that instead of people loathing and despising him, it is actually far more rewarding to be liked and admired - to help and assist people - in short, to be a caring and companionable citizen.
Wonderful illustrations by Antony Maitland really bring the text to life. A spooky and unsettling historical ghost story with a difference.
Thinking himself wonderfully clever, Mr. Fast writes the small print of the document which is drawn up between them - not specifying which part of his life the 7 years are to be taken from. As a result Mr. Fishbane (the beetroot soup boiling basement dweller) takes the first 7 years of his life, and Mr. Fast loses that part of him, along with his hopes and childhood dreams and memories. His childhood is literally embodied in the form of the phantom 'Dennis' - the junior Mr. Fast, who lurks and haunts him (in a guise similar to the youth in Mann's 'Death in Venice') until he is driven to an untimely demise.
Short and intense, this is a stark and whimsical cautionary tale of greed vs. character. Quite adult in many ways, and I enjoyed this a great deal more than 'Smith' which I read a few months ago. Has a moral to it in a similar vein to Dicken's 'A Christmas Carol' - ultimately Mr. Fast realises there is more to life than money and wealth and that instead of people loathing and despising him, it is actually far more rewarding to be liked and admired - to help and assist people - in short, to be a caring and companionable citizen.
Wonderful illustrations by Antony Maitland really bring the text to life. A spooky and unsettling historical ghost story with a difference.
January 28, 2013
I'm gradually re-reading these fantastic children's books of the 60s and 70s. Leon Garfield was such a wonderful historical novelist, that his books are streets better than many of those ostensibly written for adults. That said, this was a rather slight story, although enjoyable enough - but not up to the achievement of novels like Smith and Devil in the Fog.
June 5, 2009
like reading stephen king of the last century. the llesson from this book is 'YOU CAN'T CHEAT THE DEVIL!"
August 8, 2013
A scary story indeed. Love the writing style and a good read indeed.
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September 17, 2017I remember Leon Garfield being one of my favourite authors when I was younger.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews