Hardy Meets M.R. James: An Evening of Ghosts and Gothic

A special performance for the Thomas Hardy Society Conference and Festival 2021

Thursday 15th July at 8.00pm

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The Cambridge Don and noted antiquarian M.R. James (1862-1936) is widely considered to be the greatest ghost story writer of all time. Hardy owned both volumes of Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by James, given to him by A.E. Housman, claiming that his favourite tales were 'Count Magnus' and 'Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You my Lad'. He wrote to Housman in 1913 'I was agreeably sensible of their eeriness, even though the precaution was taken of keeping them at a safe distance from bed-time'. They corresponded on a couple of occasions, and met twice - once at a lunch at the Saville Club accompanied by Edmund Gosse (1888) and again at Cambridge at the invitation of James himself (1913).

In an evening of live readings Thomas Hardy (played by Town Crier Alistair Chisholm) will perform 'Barbara of the House of Grebe' and 'The Doctor's Legend', arguably two of Hardy's most Gothic short stories. He will be joined by M.R. James (played by Don't Go Into the Cellar's Jonathan Goodwin) who will perform 'Count Magnus' and 'Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You my Lad'.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy an evening of supernatural tales by two masters of the genre!

Tickets: For those who are not attending the conference in its entirety - £10 (£8 for THS Members)