Martin's Close

For the BBC film, see Martin's Close (film).

"Martin's Close" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his 1911 collection More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary.

"Martin's Close"
Short story by M. R. James
"Martin's Close" was published in More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in 1911.
Text available at Wikisource
Country	England
Language	English
Genre(s)	Horror
Publication
Published in	More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
Publisher	Edward Arnold
Publication date	1911

Plot summary

The story takes place in "a parish in the West".^{[note 1]} It is presented as a report of a trial in the year 1684, before Judge Jeffreys. Squire George Martin has been accused of murdering a young girl named Ann Clark, with whom he had a one-sided romance. The prosecution presents the case that Martin murdered Ann Clark, because she ruined a good marriage proposal for him. During the trial, an event is described in which Martin acted in a guilty manner when confronted with a possible apparition of the girl. In the end, Martin is found guilty of the crime, despite his attempt to have the case dismissed on a legal technicality, and is sentenced to death.^[2]

Publication

"Martin's Close" was first published in More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in 1911. In 1931, it was collected in James' book The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James. It has since been anthologised many times. The original manuscript was sold by Sotheby's on November 9, 1936.^[1]

Reception

Rosemary Pardoe states, "It is widely acknowledged that in this account of a trial before Judge Jeffreys, [James] is at the height of his powers as a brilliant historical pastichist."^[1]

Adaptations

On 12 March 1938, the BBC's London Regional Programme broadcast an adaptation of "Martin's Close" under the title Madam, Will You Walk? The 40-minute play was written by C. Whitaker-Wilson and produced by John Cheatle. The Radio Times printed the musical notation for the ghostly refrain and noted, "You will have had quite enough of that tune before the play has ended. You will hear it played by a string quartet... you will hear it sung by Judge Jeffries in court (an actual fact); and, worse still, you will hear it floating on a gale of wind, sung by a murdered girl near a lonely inn in a Devonshire village. That also is a fact."^[3]

On 4 April 1940, the BBC broadcast a second version of "Martin's Close", this time a 25-minute reading by John Gloag for the new BBC Home Service.^[4]

On 13 February 1946, C. Whitaker-Wilson's 1938 script of Madam, Will You Walk? was remounted, this time produced by Noel Iliff. Whitaker-Wilson himself played the part of Judge Jeffreys in a 45-minute production for the BBC Home Service.^[5]

On 20 August 1963, Charles Lefeaux produced a new version of "Martin's Close", adapted by Michael Hardwick and Mollie Hardwick, for Mystery Playhouse and the BBC Home Service. The 30-minute piece starred Donald Wolfit as Judge Jeffreys. ("What see you in the corner of the Court, that you fix your eyes on it and not on me, your Judge?" teased the Radio Times.) The play was repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra on 26 February 2018.^[6][7] Sound effects were provided by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and the original sound-effects reel was preserved in their archive.^[8]

On 24 December 2019, a version of the story, Martin's Close, adapted by Mark Gatiss, was broadcast on BBC Four as part of the long-running A Ghost Story for Christmas series. It starred Peter Capaldi, Elliot Levey, Wilf Scolding, Sara Crowe, James Holmes, Jessica Temple, Simon Williams, Fisayo Akinade, and Ian Hallard.^[9]

Notes

1. In the introduction to The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James, James reveals that the story is set in Sampford Courtenay in Devon.^[1]