Our newest volunteer Lucy French tells us why she studied MR James at university, and why she’s looking forward to our one-off event about the acclaimed Suffolk folk horror author at Hotel Coco.
‘I was thrilled to hear about our upcoming MR James festival event with biographer Darryl Jones. MR James, who is considered the father of the modern ghost story, holds a special place for me as I wrote my university dissertation about his writing in East Anglia.
‘I first encountered James when I watched the BBC adaptation of The Mezzotint one Christmas. I loved how disquieting and inventive James’s story was. Afterwards, my mum mentioned that James had set a short story in Felixstowe, and so we hunted out a copy and I read ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ at midnight on New Years’ Day.
‘I was home from university, on a walk with my parents, when I got the idea to write my dissertation on James. I had this unshakeable feeling that there may be something intrinsic about the landscape itself that made it the natural choice for setting a ghost story. I then found out that other writers, namely RH Malden, EF Benson, and EG Swain, had also set ghost stories around East Anglia at the same time as James.
‘In my research, I discovered that many of James’ stories featured a spectator or the distinct feeling of being watched. In my dissertation, I proposed that the exposed East Anglian landscape (of expanses of flat land and large open skies) may have inspired this.
‘In our upcoming festival event, I’m excited to hear more about James’ connections to Suffolk and Felixstowe, but also more about his life.
‘Apart from this event, I’m also just thrilled to be volunteering at this year’s festival. Everyone involved has been so welcoming and generous with their time and it’s also pleasant to be surrounded by people who have a similar interest to you.’
The MR James event, For the Dead Remember, with biographer Darryl Jones, will be held at Hotel Coco, Felixstowe, on October 27th at 5.30pm. For tickets, book here.