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Ghosts of the Chit-Chat
On the evening of Saturday, 28 October 1893, Cambridge University’s Chit-Chat Club convened its 601st meeting. Ten members and one guest gathered in the rooms of Montague Rhodes James, the Junior Dean of King’s College, and listened — with increasing absorption one suspects — as their host read “Two Ghost Stories”.
Ghosts of the Chit-Chat celebrates this momentous event in the history of supernatural literature, the earliest dated record we have of M. R. James reading his ghost stories out loud. And it revives the contributions that other members made to the genre; men of imagination who invoked the ghostly in their work, and who are now themselves shades. In a series of essays, stories, and poems Robert Lloyd Parry looks at the history and culture of the Club.
In addition to tales and poems never before reprinted, Ghosts of the Chit-Chat features earlier, slightly different versions of two of M. R. James’s best-known ghost stories; Robert Lloyd Parry’s profiles and commentaries on each featured Chit-Chat member sheds new light on this supernatural tradition, making Ghosts of the Chit-Chat a valuable resource for casual readers and long-time Jamesians alike.
Ghosts of the Chit-Chat celebrates this momentous event in the history of supernatural literature, the earliest dated record we have of M. R. James reading his ghost stories out loud. And it revives the contributions that other members made to the genre; men of imagination who invoked the ghostly in their work, and who are now themselves shades. In a series of essays, stories, and poems Robert Lloyd Parry looks at the history and culture of the Club.
In addition to tales and poems never before reprinted, Ghosts of the Chit-Chat features earlier, slightly different versions of two of M. R. James’s best-known ghost stories; Robert Lloyd Parry’s profiles and commentaries on each featured Chit-Chat member sheds new light on this supernatural tradition, making Ghosts of the Chit-Chat a valuable resource for casual readers and long-time Jamesians alike.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 7, 2021
Not at home at the moment, but I can certainly say that I've just finished this excellent book and it deserves far more than the five stars I can give it here. Quickly -- it's a look at some of the members (along with some of their work) of the Chit-chat club at Cambridge, where on October 28, 1893 then Junior Dean of King's College MR James first read aloud two of his ghost stories, "The Scrap-book of Canon Alberic" and "Lost Hearts."
It's an OMG book for me and major kudos to the editor as well as to Brian Showers of Swan River Press. You can bet I will have much more to say about this book when I'm once again home. In the meantime, if anyone knows where I can get my hands on a copy of Beneath the Surface and Other Stories by Gerald Warre Cornish, I would be forever grateful.
More soon.
It's an OMG book for me and major kudos to the editor as well as to Brian Showers of Swan River Press. You can bet I will have much more to say about this book when I'm once again home. In the meantime, if anyone knows where I can get my hands on a copy of Beneath the Surface and Other Stories by Gerald Warre Cornish, I would be forever grateful.
More soon.
November 20, 2021
A fascinating trip to the Cambridge of the 1890s and early 1900s. There are some impressive ghostly tales, but in many ways I was more drawn to Parry's research into some of the members of the Chit-Chat Club. He must have spent almost as much time in the bowels of the university library as M.R, James himself, though thankfully he seems to have been left unscathed by his discoveries. Beautifully produced and filled with evocative details, this is a book to treasure. Excellent.
June 1, 2021
One for the aficionados of the English-language ghost story, and all the better for it! The Chit-Chat was a select Cambridge group of male students and dons of the late nineteenth century, for whose meetings M. R. James produced and read aloud his first ghost stories. The first two are reprinted here, along with similar writings from other members. In context, James' stories are vastly superior but most of the other stories, including by three of the Bensons and other writers such as Maurice Baring and Desmond Macarthy, are well worth reading.
What is really special about this volume is the informative context-setting and explanatory material for each story by Robert Lloyd Parry.
A beautifully produced volume which I highly recommend.
What is really special about this volume is the informative context-setting and explanatory material for each story by Robert Lloyd Parry.
A beautifully produced volume which I highly recommend.
May 21, 2021
This is a collection of stories by people who were members, with M. R. James, of the Chit-Chat Club in Cambridge, with biographical information on the authors. The club seems to have been a forum for Cambridge types to gt together for chit chat, but it was also where James read his first two ghost stories ("Canon Alberic's Scrapbook" and "Lost Hearts"), reproduced in the volume. They set the tone for the material included in the volume, with the other club members represented by their own macabre tales. The ones I was particularly struck by were R. H. Benson's "Father Bianchi's Tale" (an old favourite since I found it years ago in an anthology of now obscure ghost stories, with its reticence about describing the actual horror prefiguring much of the superior uncanny fiction of the 20th century), Desmond MacCarthy's "Pargiton and Harby" (an odd tale of doubles, guilt and doom reminiscent of classic gothic fiction of yore), and A. C. Benson's "Basil Netherby" (the perils of modernist music).
In his notes Robert Lloyd Parry reports that M. R. James was never that found of his "Lost Hearts" story. Reading it again (after seeing Lloyd Parry perform it online a few months ago) I can see why James might have been dissatisfied with it - while its build-up is both menacing and chillingly uncanny, the resolution seems a bit random - why did the the ghosts wait till young Stephen arrived in the house to exact their revenge, and if their animus was towards their killer, why did they slash at Stephen in his sleep? Even so, the tale carried me along and I can appreciate the atmosphere it conjures up.
One thing that struck me this time with "Lost Hearts" was an element that modern readers might see in a different light than James's contemporaries - there is a scene where Abney, the eccentric master of the house, invites his ward Stephen to come visit him in the library after everyone else has gone to bed, and to not tell anyone else of this secret rendezvous. Given our greater understanding now of the viciousness of the world, to me this conjured up the spectre of Abney planning to sexually abuse the boy, and it is almost a relief to learn that his plans are considerably more gruesome.
As always with Swan River Press titles, this is a beautifully produced book, one to read and then treasure.
In his notes Robert Lloyd Parry reports that M. R. James was never that found of his "Lost Hearts" story. Reading it again (after seeing Lloyd Parry perform it online a few months ago) I can see why James might have been dissatisfied with it - while its build-up is both menacing and chillingly uncanny, the resolution seems a bit random - why did the the ghosts wait till young Stephen arrived in the house to exact their revenge, and if their animus was towards their killer, why did they slash at Stephen in his sleep? Even so, the tale carried me along and I can appreciate the atmosphere it conjures up.
One thing that struck me this time with "Lost Hearts" was an element that modern readers might see in a different light than James's contemporaries - there is a scene where Abney, the eccentric master of the house, invites his ward Stephen to come visit him in the library after everyone else has gone to bed, and to not tell anyone else of this secret rendezvous. Given our greater understanding now of the viciousness of the world, to me this conjured up the spectre of Abney planning to sexually abuse the boy, and it is almost a relief to learn that his plans are considerably more gruesome.
As always with Swan River Press titles, this is a beautifully produced book, one to read and then treasure.
August 11, 2021
A low 3 stars.
My word I wanted to really love this book. It had all the right ingredients, the book itself is beautiful, it is edited by the modern teller of M.R James tales par excellence and it is full of undiscovered Victorian era spooky tales. Alas it didn’t turn out quite as amazing as I hoped for.
The reason behind my disappointment is that, apart from James’s stories and a couple of others, I didn’t think that the stories herein where any good. I went in with high expectations and was bitterly let down. As harsh as it sounds, I can see why these stories, and authors, languished in obscurity, while M.R.J flew high on the wings of Victorian terror.
However, Mr Parry’s brief overview of each authors life and connection to the Chit-Chat Club made all the mediocreness of the stories bearable. This man clearly knows his stuff, he must live and breath James and the world that was around him. And it shows. His love for the man, his history and that of the others connected to him, shines off the page.
If nothing else, this book proves that MRJ was the best of his time.
The Scrapbook of Canon Alberic 🖤🖤🖤🖤
Lost Hearts - 🖤🖤🖤🖤
The Other Bed - 🖤🖤🖤
The Deans Story - 🖤🖤
Red Gold - 🖤
Father Bianchi’s Tale - 🖤🖤
Man Stories - 🖤
Basil Netherby - 🖤🖤🖤
The Phonograph Bewitched - 🖤🖤
The Shadow of a Midnight - 🖤🖤
The Ikon - 🖤🖤🖤
A Fable - 🖤🖤
Pargiton and Harby - 🖤🖤
Beneath the Surface - 🖤
My word I wanted to really love this book. It had all the right ingredients, the book itself is beautiful, it is edited by the modern teller of M.R James tales par excellence and it is full of undiscovered Victorian era spooky tales. Alas it didn’t turn out quite as amazing as I hoped for.
The reason behind my disappointment is that, apart from James’s stories and a couple of others, I didn’t think that the stories herein where any good. I went in with high expectations and was bitterly let down. As harsh as it sounds, I can see why these stories, and authors, languished in obscurity, while M.R.J flew high on the wings of Victorian terror.
However, Mr Parry’s brief overview of each authors life and connection to the Chit-Chat Club made all the mediocreness of the stories bearable. This man clearly knows his stuff, he must live and breath James and the world that was around him. And it shows. His love for the man, his history and that of the others connected to him, shines off the page.
If nothing else, this book proves that MRJ was the best of his time.
The Scrapbook of Canon Alberic 🖤🖤🖤🖤
Lost Hearts - 🖤🖤🖤🖤
The Other Bed - 🖤🖤🖤
The Deans Story - 🖤🖤
Red Gold - 🖤
Father Bianchi’s Tale - 🖤🖤
Man Stories - 🖤
Basil Netherby - 🖤🖤🖤
The Phonograph Bewitched - 🖤🖤
The Shadow of a Midnight - 🖤🖤
The Ikon - 🖤🖤🖤
A Fable - 🖤🖤
Pargiton and Harby - 🖤🖤
Beneath the Surface - 🖤
December 13, 2021
A fun, low-key collection of (mostly) ghost stories and a few other oddities, centered around the Cambridge club where M.R. James first debuted two of his famous ghost stories. The early version fo the james stories are included, plus ones written by club members. There are also quotes from memoirs and letters about the club, the campus culture, and the individual members, giving a flavor of the times, as well as an excerpt from a then-contemporary novel satirizing the group for their pretensions. I have a real soft spot for this time period and this kind of environment, which is ironic considering that when it existed, I would have been excluded, and by the time I could have been included, nothing like it really existed. Not that I had any access to, anyway! But this was a nice, cozy December read, with a little undertone of the everyday background life of M.R. James and E.F. Benson, two undisputed masters of the English ghost story. Side note: I'm becoming a fan of the Swan River Press, so you should check them out!
September 26, 2022
Editor: Parry, Robert - Ghosts Of The Chit-Chat
Parry does an excellent job showcasing not only the bright names, but the lesser known, as well.
There is an overall history of the club, members, influences, quirks.
Also a biography for each of the eleven writers.
M.R. James and the brothers Benson are represented, and most horror readers will be familiar with their stories.
The draw for many will be those forgotten members.
H.R.W. Tatham’s “The Phonograph Bewitched” offers a vintage recording device that appears to record with a will of its own.
Maurice Baring has two haunted tales, a room for the night, and a religious artifact.
Gerald Warre Cornish perished too young in the Somme. An excerpt from his “Beneath The Surface” gives a painfully tantalizing glimpse of lost potential.
Kudos for Mr. Parry for researching and unearthing these gems; this must have been a labor of love.
Parry does an excellent job showcasing not only the bright names, but the lesser known, as well.
There is an overall history of the club, members, influences, quirks.
Also a biography for each of the eleven writers.
M.R. James and the brothers Benson are represented, and most horror readers will be familiar with their stories.
The draw for many will be those forgotten members.
H.R.W. Tatham’s “The Phonograph Bewitched” offers a vintage recording device that appears to record with a will of its own.
Maurice Baring has two haunted tales, a room for the night, and a religious artifact.
Gerald Warre Cornish perished too young in the Somme. An excerpt from his “Beneath The Surface” gives a painfully tantalizing glimpse of lost potential.
Kudos for Mr. Parry for researching and unearthing these gems; this must have been a labor of love.
February 2, 2023
I bought this as a Christmas present for Bill and he thought I should read it too. I did quite enjoy most of the stories. But was distracted reading them so probably didn't get as much out of them as I should. Man stories was a very nice idea and Basil Netherby was my favourite and I could easily see that being adapted into a really nice film today.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews