This is a review of the short story Lost Hearts, written by M.R. James and published in his collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. Read my review of The Ash Tree, the last story I reviewed, here. M.R. James was a Cambridge scholar who wrote ghost stories in the early 20th century.
Recently orphaned Stephen Elliott comes to Aswarby (an actual village in England) to live with his elderly cousin, Mr. Abney. Mr. James begins by describing the architecture of the hall, which has no bearing whatsoever on the story, and then tells us that Mr. Abney is an expert in Greek paganism. This is important, mainly because Mr. Abney is planning on sacrificing his 11-year old young cousin.
Why is Stephen’s age important? I don’t know. Mr. Abney seems to think it’s important, because he makes sure that he’s under twelve years old. The voluminous expository text at the story’s end states that the human sacrifice must be under 21 years, but there is no way anyone – even an old coot like Mr. Abney – could mistake an 11-year old for a 21-year old. My guess is that the text at the end should read as twelve years old.
Neither Stephen Elliott nor any of the servants knows that Mr. Abney wants to sacrifice him, but it should be fairly obvious to the reader of this type of tale, especially when we learn that two other children under his ‘care’ mysteriously vanished. Mr. Abney certainly qualifies as one of James’ absentminded academics, with a twist. Evil or crazy, take your pick.
Lost Hearts contains two unsettling images, one involving a dream sequence in a bathroom and the other occurring on the night of the sacrifice – except Mr. Abney is the one who loses his heart. The old man wants to move to another plane, which describes death pretty well, so I guess we have a happy ending!
Lost Hearts is a good story, with more plot than most of the other tales reviewed in this volume. From the modern point of view, the main issue is that it is overwritten, but that is typical for tales of this time period. Also, young Stephen (the protagonist) could be more involved. Maybe he lets the ghost children in, or whatever. Right now, he is just a spectator.
Recommended for fans of ghost stories, especially Victorian/Edwardian ghost stories!
Abandoned Places 