"Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" is a horror story by British writer M. R. James, which was written in 1892 or 1893 and first published in 1895 in the National Review.[1] It is his earliest known ghost story, and the first (along with "Lost Hearts") to be read aloud to the "Chitchat Society" at Cambridge, where many of his stories made their public debut.[1] It was subsequently included in his first short story collection, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904).
Some have considered James' later story "An Episode of Cathedral History" (first published in The Cambridge Review in 1914 and later included in the 1919 collection A Thin Ghost and Others) to be a sequel or companion piece, as it features a similar creature, obliquely suggested to be the mate of the one encountered in "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book".[2]
The story has a detailed and realistic setting in the tiny decaying cathedral city of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, at the foot of the Pyrenees in southern France. An English tourist spends a day photographing the interior of the eponymous cathedral and is encouraged by the sacristan to buy an unusual manuscript. This, he concludes, had been created long ago by Canon Albéric de Mauléon (an invented character, said to be a collateral descendant of the real 16th-century bishop Jean de Mauléon), who had cut up volumes in the old cathedral library. A disturbing illustration of King Solomon and a demon in the back of the book is a key to the story's suspenseful arc.
Adaptationsedit
The story has inspired a musical composition by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, St. Bertrand de Comminges: "He was laughing in the tower", first performed in 1985 by Yonty Solomon.[3]
^ abJones, Darryl (2011). "Explanatory Notes". Collected Ghost Stories by M. R. James. Oxford: Oxford University Press. P. 421. ISBN978-019-956884-0
^Jones, Darryl (2011). "Explanatory Notes". Collected Ghost Stories by M. R. James. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 452."'Cathedral History's' demon is female (as opposed to its male counterpart in 'Canon Alberic')."ISBN978-019-956884-0
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
External linksedit
The full text of Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book at Wikisource
An omnibus collection of James's short fiction at Standard Ebooks
Media related to Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book at Wikimedia Commons
Full text of "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book"
Helen Grant, "'He was laughing in the church': A Visit to St Bertrand de Comminges" in Ghosts & Scholars Newsletter no. 7 (2005).
Works by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
This article about a horrorshort story (or stories) is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
canon, alberic, scrap, book, horror, story, british, writer, james, which, written, 1892, 1893, first, published, 1895, national, review, earliest, known, ghost, story, first, along, with, lost, hearts, read, aloud, chitchat, society, cambridge, where, many, s. Canon Alberic s Scrap Book is a horror story by British writer M R James which was written in 1892 or 1893 and first published in 1895 in the National Review 1 It is his earliest known ghost story and the first along with Lost Hearts to be read aloud to the Chitchat Society at Cambridge where many of his stories made their public debut 1 It was subsequently included in his first short story collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary 1904 Canon Alberic s Scrap book Short story by M R JamesIllustration by James McBrydeCountryEnglandLanguageEnglishGenre s Horror short storyPublicationPublication date1895Some have considered James later story An Episode of Cathedral History first published in The Cambridge Review in 1914 and later included in the 1919 collection A Thin Ghost and Others to be a sequel or companion piece as it features a similar creature obliquely suggested to be the mate of the one encountered in Canon Alberic s Scrap Book 2 Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Adaptations 3 References 4 External linksPlot summary editThe story has a detailed and realistic setting in the tiny decaying cathedral city of Saint Bertrand de Comminges at the foot of the Pyrenees in southern France An English tourist spends a day photographing the interior of the eponymous cathedral and is encouraged by the sacristan to buy an unusual manuscript This he concludes had been created long ago by Canon Alberic de Mauleon an invented character said to be a collateral descendant of the real 16th century bishop Jean de Mauleon who had cut up volumes in the old cathedral library A disturbing illustration of King Solomon and a demon in the back of the book is a key to the story s suspenseful arc Adaptations editThe story has inspired a musical composition by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji St Bertrand de Comminges He was laughing in the tower first performed in 1985 by Yonty Solomon 3 In 2020 the story was adapted into a full cast audio drama for the second season of Shadows at the Door The Podcast References edit a b Jones Darryl 2011 Explanatory Notes Collected Ghost Stories by M R James Oxford Oxford University Press P 421 ISBN 978 019 956884 0 Jones Darryl 2011 Explanatory Notes Collected Ghost Stories by M R James Oxford Oxford University Press p 452 Cathedral History s demon is female as opposed to its male counterpart in Canon Alberic ISBN 978 019 956884 0 Un troisieme disque Sorabji par Michael Habermann PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2011 07 06 Retrieved 2007 06 25 External links edit nbsp The full text of Canon Alberic s Scrap Book at Wikisource An omnibus collection of James s short fiction at Standard Ebooks nbsp Media related to Canon Alberic s Scrap Book at Wikimedia Commons Full text of Canon Alberic s Scrap Book Helen Grant He was laughing in the church A Visit to St Bertrand de Comminges in Ghosts amp Scholars Newsletter no 7 2005 Works by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Archived 2011 07 06 at the Wayback Machine nbsp This article about a horror short story or stories is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Canon Alberic 27s Scrap Book amp oldid 1184871488, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
