Wednesday, October 21, 2020

The Crown Derby Plate


The Crown Derby Plate is a horror short story by Marjorie Bowen. It was first published on Christmas Eve in 1931 and takes place during the Christmas season. I find it delightful, featuring as it does three cheerful old women sitting at a big cozy fire and wondering about the rumor of a ghost. You can read it online here. You can have it read aloud to you at the bottom of this post. It begins,
Martha Pym said that she had never seen a ghost and that she would very much like to do so, “particularly at Christmas, for you can laugh as you like, that is the correct time to see a ghost.”

“I don’t suppose you ever will,” replied her cousin Mabel comfortably, while her cousin Clara shuddered and said that she hoped they would change the subject for she disliked even to think of such things.

The three elderly, cheerful women sat round a big fire, cosy and content after a day of pleasant activities; Martha was the guest of the other two, who owned the handsome, convenient country house; she always came to spend her Christmas with the Wyntons and found the leisurely country life delightful after the bustling round of London, for Martha managed an antique shop of the better sort and worked extremely hard. She was, however, still full of zest for work or pleasure, though sixty years old, and looked backwards and forwards to a succession of delightful days.

The other two, Mabel and Clara, led quieter but none the less agreeable lives; they had more money and fewer interests, but nevertheless enjoyed themselves very well.

“Talking of ghosts,” said Mabel, “I wonder how that old woman at ‘Hartleys’ is getting on, for ‘Hartleys,’ you know, is supposed to be haunted.”
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16 comments:

  1. ...wow, in a little over 2 months Christmas Eve will be here!

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    1. I love these little Christmas ghost stories :)

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  2. Apparently, the Adelaide Library shut down the e-books link 🙁

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    1. Damn! I forgot to check the link. Thanks for the heads up. I'll find a substitute.

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  3. Sounds like a good story. I will read it tomorrow as it is late for me right now. But I am curious about a ghost and Christmas and it not being Charles Dickens

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    1. Charles Dickens was just one part in the Christmas ghost story tradition.

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  4. Sounds good! Tim is flying by! Valerie

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  5. Never heard of ghosts belonging to Christmas - I must live under a rock!

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    1. A Christmas Carol is a ghost story and just one in a tradition we don't hear much about any more. It used to be an annual thing.

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  6. Oh, this could be a good one. (And I love the plate!)

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  7. This sounds like a good read. I've added it to my list of links of stories to read. (Which, I continue to be far behind on.)

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  8. Lovely to find a ghost story with a Christmas twist and wow, it's not long to Christmas is it 😀. Happy wishes! Hugs, Jo x

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    1. Christmas ghost stories used to be an annual thing. I don't know when they stopped publishing those. We wouldn't have Dickens' A Christmas Carol without that tradition.

      Christmas will be here soon!

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