Episode 99 – Curfew by Lucy M. Boston

A Podcast to the Curious - The M.R. James Podcast

This episode Mike and Will examine Curfew by Lucy M. Boston, a childhood tale of haunted bells, unearthed coffins and post-Jamesian highjinx aplenty.

Big thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode.

Show notes:

• Curfew by Lucy M. Boston – read by Robert Lloyd Parry (Youtube.com)
  The text of this story is not freely available online for copyright reasons, but why not enjoy this live-streamed reading of the story from the quintessential Jamesian actor, Robert Lloyd Parry?
• About Lucy M. Boston (Wikipedia)
  Lucy M. Boston had an eventful life, from scandalising her strict Wesleyan family by abandoning their religion, to serving as a volunteer nurse in Normandy during the first world war and later studying art in France, Italy, Austria and Hungary. She is most famous for her Children of Green Knowe series of children’s books which were set in a fictionalised version of her home for over 50 years, Hemingford Grey manor in Cambridgeshire.
• Norton Priory, Cheshire (Wikipedia)
  According to Robert Lloyd Parry’s excellent introduction to the Swan River Press edition of Curfew and Other Tales, the locations in Curfew were almost certainly based on Norton Priory in Cheshire. Lucy M. Boston lived within sight of this decaying manor house during the 1920’s, shortly before its demolition, and it certainly fits the descriptions in the story very closely.
• Folklore related to this story (DarkOxfordshire.co.uk)
  In this episode we compare the events of the story to various pieces of English folklore from our area of the country, including curfew bell traditions, haunted bells in ponds, black dogs and even mysterious deaths in bell towers.
• A Ghost Story for Christmas: Woman of Stone (bbc.co.uk)
  The latest Mark Gatiss Ghost Story for Christmas will be based on ‘Man-Size in Marble’ by E. Nesbit.
• Hypnogoria’s The Horrors of Christmas Advent Calendar (hypnogoria.com)
  This Christmas Jim Moon has produced a series on the origins and history of Christmas horror movies. Highly recommended!