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The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain
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The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain (hosted by Petra)
Happy Holidays, Everyone! Welcome to The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain.
I'm so glad to be able to host the Christmas read this year. You all make this such a wonderful Holiday tradition that I look forward to each year.
Dickens has one again written an entertaining and thoughtful story to entertain us over the Holidays. We'll read a few pages each day enjoy a slow, relaxing read.
I'm looking forward to our time together in this thread.
We will start on December 23.
A few on-line versions of the book to read along with:Project Gutenberg:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/644/6...
Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/hauntedma...
Audiobook:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQFni...
Chapter 1: The Gift BestowedIntroduction (Dec 23): Link to Comment 8
Summary 1 (Dec 24): Link to Comment 33
From: beginning of story
To: You should have seen him in his dwelling about twilight, in the dead winter time.
Summary 2 (Dec 25): Link to Comment 49
From: When the wind was blowing, shrill and shrewd, with the going down of the blurred sun.
To: From this employment he desisted in a hurry, ……, that it seemed as if the mere coming in of his fresh redface and active manner had made the pleasant alteration.
Summary 3 (Dec 26): Link to Comment 65
From: “Mrs. William is of course subject at any time,… off her balance by the elements"
To: …..just as the subject of his praises entered the room,…., and followed by a veraable old man with long grey hair
Summary 4 (Dec 27): Link to Comment 84
From: Mrs. William, like Mr. William, ........was very pleasantly repeated.
To: "Merry and happy -- and remember well!"
Summary 5 (Dec 28): Link to Comment 100
From: "Ay, ay ay!"
To: I have made no terms of secrecy with you, but I trust to your honour completely.
Summary 6 (Dec 29): Link to Comment 115
From: "Why did he say so?"
To: This was the dread companion of the haunted man!
Summary 7 (Dec 30): Link to Comment 137
From: It took, for some moments, no more apparent heed of him, than he of it.
To: Early unhappiness, a wound from a hand I loved and trusted, and a loss that nothing can replace, outlive such fancies.
Summary 8 (Dec 31): Link to Comment 155
From: “Thus”, said the Phantom…..
To: It came, not from the passages beyond the door……one in the dark who had lost the way.
Summary 9 (Jan 1: HAPPY NEW YEAR!): Link to Comment 171
From: He looked confusedly upon his hands and limbs…..
To: end of chapter
Chapter 2: The Gift DiffusedSummary 1 (Jan 2): Link to Comment 184
From: start of chapter
To: In short, Tetterby’s had tried so hard……..and having no young family to provide for.
Summary 2 (Jan 3): Link to Comment 212
From: Tetterby himself, however,…….
To: Thus, before daylight in the winter-time, he went to and fro,……to the great relief and comfort of this young gentleman’s spirits.
Summary 3 (Jan 4): Link to Comment 228
From: Mrs. Tetterby, his lady-mother, …..began to lay the cloth for supper.
To: They, not hard of heart, presenting scraps in return……before which these guerilla troops retired in all directions and in great confusion.
Summary 4 (Jan 5): Link to Comment 245
From: : Mrs. Tetterby did not enjoy her supper.
To: “I don’t know why – I – stop! Husband!” for he was going towards the stranger.
Summary 5 (Jan 6): Link to Comment 256
From: She had one hand press upon her forehead, ……..
To: “…… Beginning my inquiries at the first house in it, I have found him.”
Summary 6 (Jan 7): Link to Comment 268
From: “I have been ill, sir”……
To: “……. I may be the murderer of what is tenderest and best within her bosom.”
Summary 7 (Jan 8): Link to Comment 277
From: She was knocking at the door
To: If she had been as passionate as she was quiet, ……….,upon the lonely student when she went away.
Summary 8 (Jan 9): Link to Comment 290
From: He was gazing drearily upon the place where she had been, ……..
To: He made a hasty step towards the door, afraid of her returning
Summary 9 (Jan 10): Link to Comment 301
From: “Will you let me walk by myself…… "
To: Afraid to look at her again…….he gathered his cloak about him, and glided swiftly up the stairs.
Summary 10 (Jan 11): Link to Comment 311
From: Opposite to him, on the landing, was a door…….
To: “Don’t you remember? Don’t you know him?”, he pursued.
Summary 11 (Jan 12): Link to Comment 317
From: He shut his face out for a moment…..
To: the end of The Gift Diffused
Chapter 3: The Gift ReversedSummary 1 (Jan 13): Link to Comment 327
From: beginning of Chapter
To: A radiant light fell on her face,…….it was dark ad colourless as ever
Summary 2 (Jan 14): Link to Comment 342
From: “Spectre!”, said the Chemist……
To: “…..Open and unpunished murder…….than one such spectacle as this.”
Summary 3 (Jan 15): Link to Comment 349
From: It seemed to look down upon the boy…..
To: Yes, Mrs. Tetterby, going to the door by mere accident, ……., and slap that blessed child.
Summary 4 (Jan 16): Link to Comment 358
From: Mrs. Tetterby had him into the parlour……and repaid him the assault with usury thereto.
To: “My senses must have forsook me……….”, said Mrs. Tetterby with elaboration.
Summary 5 (Jan 17): Link to Comment 368
From: In this mood they sat down to breakfast.
To: She came among them…….love, and domesticity.
Summary 6 (Jan 18): Link to Comment 379
From: “What! Are you all so glad to see me, too,……..
To: “Why, she is now, “ Said Milly, ……, “in my little parlour in the Lodge, and waiting to see you.”
Summary 7 (Jan 19): Link to Comment 393
From: He pressed her hand, and darting off, but she detained him.
To: : ……and perhaps it is no wonder that he walked submissively beside her, and drew her gentle bosom nearer to his own.
Summary 8 (Jan 20): Link to Comment 395
From: When they arrived at the Lodge…..was leaning against the opposite side of the fireplace, looking at him.
To: He took his hand from the boy, …….looked more intently on her.
Summary 9 (Jan 21): Link to Comment 408
From: “He is the father of Mr. Edmund…….
To: …….she avoided disturbing him, or permitting him to be disturbed; and kneeled down near the chair to put some warm clothing on the boy.
Summary 10 (Jan 22): Link to Comment 419
From: “That’s exactly where it is. That’s what I always say, father!”…..
To: end of chapter
Gallery of Missed Illustrations: Link to Comment 449
Published in 1848, The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain was the last of Charles Dickens’ Christmas novellas. For Dickens, Christmas was as much about reflection as it was about celebration. Dickens wrote this novella in 2 months, from October 5th to November 30th, while staying at the Bedford Hotel in Brighton. It was a difficult time for him. His sister, Fanny, had died on September 2, 1848, from tuberculosis.
Despite being finished early, the book wasn’t published in time for Christmas because Dickens insisted on a large number of illustrations being included. The original printing included 17 illustrations, drawn by 4 artists. Dickens knew that these costly illustrations would cut into his profit margin but he wanted to illustrate this story magnificently. The first edition shows his strong desire to bring about a book as a physical item of beauty going beyond the story it contained.
Pepper’s GhostLiverpudlian engineer Henry Dircks is believed to have devised a method of projecting an actor onto a stage using a sheet of glass and a clever use of lighting, calling the technique "Dircksian Phantasmagoria". The actor would then have an ethereal, ghost-like appearance while seemingly able to perform alongside other actors.
John Henry Pepper (1821-1900) saw the concept and replicated it on a larger scale, taking out a joint patent with Dircks.
Pepper debuted his creation with a Christmas Eve production of the Charles Dickens play The Haunted Man in 1862 and Dircks signed over all financial rights to Pepper. Through this the effect became known as "Pepper's ghost", much to the frustration of Dircks, and though Pepper insisted that Dircks should have a share of the credit, the technique is still named after the man who popularised it.
Some reports have suggested that, at the time, Pepper claimed to have developed the technique after reading the 1831 book Recreative Memoirs by famed showman Étienne-Gaspard Robert.
Pepper's demonstrations of "the ghost effect" were received with amazement by the general public while intriguing his fellow scientists. People returned to the theatre repeatedly in an attempt to work out the method being used; famed physicist Michael Faraday eventually gave up and requested an explanation.
Copied from Wikipedia
Pepper's Ghost effect #1:
Pepper's Ghost effect #2:
Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837), often known by the stage name of "Robertson", was a prominent physicist, stage magician and influential developer of phantasmagoria from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. He was described by Charles Dickens as "an honourable and well-educated showman".
Alongside his pioneering work on projection techniques for his shows Robert was also a physics lecturer and a keen balloonist at a time of great development in aviation.
Copied from Wikipedia
The Adelphi Theatre Calendar, December 30, 1848https://www.umass.edu/AdelphiTheatreC...
--> scroll down to see the article on Page 424, titled "Adelphi Theatre", in the middle column.
(it's the same article as is highlighted at the top of this link but in it's original format)
I think Charles Dickens must have been mesmorized by the use of Pepper's Ghost in the stage production of his story. The stage effect must have appeared magical and mysterious to the onlookers. What a great treat this must have been for them to see!
Hi PetraWhat a wonderful introduction to our look at ‘The Haunted Man’!You are right. Dickens must have been fascinated with this new theatrical innovation.
I can just imagine how Dickens responded to seeing his novella ‘The Haunted Man’ performed in 1862. It must have sent his imagination spinning!
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The Pepper's ghost must have added an entire new dimension to the play. How exciting this must have been for Dickens. Thank you for the information, Petra and also the illustration link. I haven't started, and probably won't be able to until after Christmas, but I am looking forward to this.
Thank you, Peter, Jean and Sara! I also found the information fascinating. It must have been exciting, in many ways, to live in a time when such new inventions were discovered and that changed and/or enhanced Life, to some extent. All of it must have seemed thrilling and magical, in it's way.
Sara, enjoy the Holidays. You'll be able to catch up when you have that time. I'm looking forward to reading along with everyone, too.
Forgive me if I'm a bonehead and I've missed something obvious! Have you posted the reading schedule yet?
Paul, I'll post each day's reading section the day before. I could, if it's helpful, post a few sections ahead. I'll do that now. Thanks for letting me know it's helpful.
Petra, thank you for doing so much research on The Haunted Man... in preparation for our Christmas read together. As others have said, I also enjoyed learning about Dircks/Pepper's Ghost - another innovation to heighten the enjoyment for the audience.I am also fascinated that Charles Dickens voluntarily chose to cut into his profit margins because he wanted to include a number of illustrations to help his audience visualize his story. I think this was also the showman in him. No wonder he was so admired in his own time!
Shirley, I love, too, how Dickens thought about his readers so much. He put care and attention into his publications so that the readers got more enjoyment.I can't recall which book it was but I remember us mentioning one edition where he wanted a specific leather (green, I think) for the cover.
He thought of so many details. It's incredible.
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Another example of caring about his readers, as you say.
Thanks, Jean! I think that's the story I was half-recalling. It truly showed that his readers meant everything to him.
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Hi all,I'm excited to participate in this reading, my second with the group. Petra, thank you for the wonderful introductory information! I loved Charles Dickens already, but this group and the work the leaders put into the discussions have enhanced my reading. Thank you! I can't wait to check back in tomorrow after I've read the first few pages.
Hello, friends! I am so excited to have a new Christmas story from Mr Dickens to read this year! Thank you, Petra for leading and here we go, Christmas 2024 🎄🎅🏻🤶🏻🎄
Welcome, Kelly and Lee! Kelly, we're all grateful and appreciative of the work put into all the group reads here. My reading of Dickens' works has been greatly enhanced by this group. I didn't participate much this year (Life....) but it remains one of my absolute favorite groups.
Lee, I'm glad to hear how much this read is being looked forward to. I always look forward to our Christmas read.
I'm so glad that you're leading another Christmas book, Petra. I'm impressed that the book has so many illustrations! Thanks for the great information about Pepper's Ghost.
Connie, it is surprising that such a short book has so many illustrations. I hope to find them all (fingers crossed).
Okay......Let's get started. Here we go..........
Title Page by John Tenniel, 1848
Chapter 1 - The Gift Bestowed by John Tenniel
Chapter 1 - The Gift Bestowed:
Everyone said the man looked like haunted.
The physical aspects of the man are described. Hollow cheeked, sunken eyes, grim, grizzled & tangled hair.
The manner of the man’s personality is described. Taciturn, gloomy, reserved, distraught.
The voice of the man is described. Deep, slow speaking, melody & fulness.
His surroundings are described. Part library/part chemistry lab, surrounded by drugs & instruments, books, shadowed, spectral shadows on the walls. He’s a learned man of chemistry.
Who might not believe that the man and his home were haunted?
His home was solitary. The last remnants of a once open space for students but now surrounded by a crowded, smoky city, choked with bricks and stones. Its quadrangles surrounded by streets, buildings, yet not visited anymore. People pass by it without noticing the dark corner of its existence.
His home was old but strong. Surrounded by the city, the rooms were empty and quiet. Each sound that entered was echoed through the empty space until muffled by the heaviness of the place.
Giles Scroggin's Ghost
"Giles Scroggins Ghost" was a popular comic song made famous in Britain and North America by the stage performances of William Twaits (c. 1781-1814).
The song was the product of the pen of Charles Dibdin Jr. (1768-1833), who wrote lyrics set to music by William Reeve (1757-1815), an English composer. The pair often collaborated on works for the theater.
The song was printed in 19th century songsters and similar collections, and also survived in oral tradition.
Lyrics to Giles Scroggins Ghost (right side):
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/28803...
Recording of Giles Scroggins Ghost:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdlpM...
Giles Scroggins Ghost by George Cruikshank, 1830
When standing all by the bed post,
A figure tall her sight engross'd
And it cri'd, "I be Giles Scroggins' ghost,"
Fol lol de rol de rol de ra.
The ghost it said, all solemnly,
Fol lol de rol de rol de ra.
"O Molly you must go with I,
Fol de rol de rol de ra.
"All to the grave your love to cool,"
Says she, "I am not dead, you fool."
Says the ghost, says he, "Vhy that's no rule,"
Fol lol de rol de rol de ra.
George Cruikshank (1792 - 1898) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience.For Charles Dickens, Cruikshank illustrated Sketches by Boz (1836), The Mudfog Papers (1837–38) and Oliver Twist (1838). He also illustrated Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi (1838), which Dickens edited under his regular nom de plume, "Boz". Cruikshank even acted in Dickens's amateur theatrical company.
On 30 December 1871, Cruikshank published a letter in The Times which claimed credit for much of the plot of Oliver Twist. The letter launched a fierce controversy around who created the work.
The friendship between Cruikshank and Dickens soured further when Cruikshank became a fanatical teetotaler in opposition to Dickens's views of moderation.
"....but rumbling and grumbling till they were stifled in the heavy air of the forgotten Crypt where the Norman arches were half-buried in the earth."Parts of Norman London can still be seen. This one is below Westminster Abbey, I believe. There's a good chance that Charles Dickens walked through these rooms. I'm only guessing but it seems like a place he'd visit if it was open to visitors. (the pillars do look half-buried, don't you think?)
The Norman style is typified by massive stone columns and round arches.
Built between 1042-52, this squat room has a low ceiling because it’s the undercroft below what was the monk’s dormitory:
Surviving tomb of Abbot Gilbert Crispin who was born in 1055.
Full article: https://lookup.london/norman-london/
Redlaw in his Laboratory by Charles Green, 1893
The Old Sun Dial by Charles Green, 1912
Petra wrote: "Giles Scroggins Ghost by George Cruikshank, 1830When standing all by the bed post,
A figure tall her sight engross'd
And it cri'd, "I be Giles Scroggins' ghost,"
Fol lol de rol de rol de ra.
..."
What wonderful lyrics! I hope the lady won the argument!!
The images you have posted, Petra leave me speechless!!And I also loved the image of the sun dial surrounded by the last remains of a forgotten snowfall. I remember such lonely spots where the snow refused to melt when I lived in Chicago!
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I love how Charles Dickens launches right into a confidential chatty tone, which is completely at variance with the ghoulish description. Who else could do that and pull it off? Because what it does (for me at least) is to keep me reading. I am soothed and intrigued at the same time. Starting three paragraphs with "who" emphasises this, as well. (I think this is anaphora - it's something Charles Dickens does quite a lot, for effect.)
Like Lee, I really giggled at the lyric - and even more at George Cruikshank's illustration which - like Charles Dickens's writing at this point - is both absurd and horrific. I can't help but wonder where we will go from here. 🤔
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Thank you so much Petra! This is wonderful stuff for this time of year. Oddly too, it is both like an encore of "Dramatic Dickens" and a link to his more in-depth works.
I'm raring to go with tomorrow's section!
Lee wrote: "What wonderful lyrics! I hope the lady won the argument!! ..."Lee, I enjoy the lyrics, too. I'm a sucker for a comedic poem. The painting just adds to the humour.
Lee wrote: "The images you have posted, Petra leave me speechless!!And I also loved the image of the sun dial surrounded by the last remains of a forgotten snowfall. I remember such lonely spots where the snow refused to melt when I lived in Chicago!.."
The illustrators certainly put effort into these lovely pictures.
I also like those quiet, darker corners where the snow lingers after melting from other spots.
Jean, thank you. Dickens manages to insert humour into the darkest corners. This story has started out very gloomy, indeed. I'm loving the descriptions and atmosphere.
This is a dark, beautifully written start to the story. The atmosphere is so gloomy and smokey, and the sun dial is in an area where the sun never shines. Dickens uses a lot of personification such as "its old trees, insulted by the neighbouring smoke," and "silent pavements."In addition to being called haunted, Dickens uses words like lonely, retiring, silent as the dead, and solitary when describing the chemist and his dwelling. The haunted man seems to be brilliant, but is experiencing so much loneliness. Dickens has us wanting to know more about the haunted man.
As Jean pointed out, the paragraphs on the first page start with "who" and end with "a haunted man." I could imagine this passage being read aloud, getting everyone in the mood for a good ghost story. I'm probably going on too long, but it's such wonderful writing! I wonder if Dickens recited the story in his home on Christmas Eve since ghost stories were a Christmas tradition.
Petra, I love the words and illustration for the song "Giles Scroggins' Ghost." What a great find!
Connie, I love the idea of reading this aloud as a spooky ghost story. A fireplace, crackling logs, shadows dancing and a spooky story. That would be a fantastic evening.I was thrilled to find the details of Giles Scroggins Ghost. That's a fun poem and the illustration was a bonus find.
The Gift Bestowed - Summary 2Outside the wind is blowing, strong and shrill. The twilight was dark, cold. Passerbys were stung by driven snow, the ground frozen. The gas lights brought light to otherwise dark streets. The light reminding people of the warmth and light of their homes as they hurried towards them.
People on land are cold in their gloomy surroundings. People at sea are tossed on the choppy, icy seas. Worn, tired sea birds rest on the lighthouses and fall dead. Children read their stories, trembling at the horrors within them. The streets, parks, trees, fallen leaves were all in dark shadow as the day ended. Mists rose from the waters, and fens. Every light from windows was a cheerful sight. Workers put down their tools and went home.
Twilight brought out the shadows. They overtook everything, lurked in corners, turned people into ogres, toys into monsters. They covered the walls, the floors, the ceilings.
In the elderly, the shadows brought images of lost loved ones and things that might have been.
The man, sat, gazing into the fire, which caused the shadows to come and go as the flames rose and fell. He didn’t see the shadows, so intently was he gazing into the flames.
Sounds were all around him: the wind in the chimney, the rook on the roof, the rusty vane creaked. For another quarter of an hour, he stared into the fire until a knock came to his door and he was roused.
The figure standing behind his chair, leaning over it and him, was quick when he lifted his head. With no mirror in the room to show an extra shadow, the figure was not seen, but a presence did pass and was gone.
A fresh-coloured man entered, carrying a dinner tray. He put it on the table and went about lighting the lamp, attending the fire. The extra light changed the room dramatically and pleasantly.
The Lighthouse by Carlton Stanfield, 1848
Dickensians!
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)Michael Kitchen (other topics)
Alan Bleasdale (other topics)
Fred Barnard (other topics)
Sol Eytinge Jr (other topics)
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Petra will lead this discussion. Her hosts of these festive reads have become a true "Dickensians!" tradition at this time of year, and much anticipated by everyone, as she does it so very well! 🤩
Our read will bridge 2024 to 2025, beginning on 23rd December 2024, and continuing until 22nd January 2025 (when we will have a week's break until the next one).
**Please allow Petra to comment first! Thanks**