Something More About 'Lost Hearts'

Say uncle!

Allusions to the work of British author M. R. James (1862-1936) figure into many of the books written by John Bellairs and Brad Strickland. I thought I would empty out the archive and mention some connections.

"Lost Hearts" is a short horror story included in James’s first collection, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904). In the story, a young orphan named Stephen Elliot arrives at Aswarby Hall, the country estate of his elderly cousin, Mr. Abney.

Lewis's arrival in New Zebedee to live with his uncle Jonathan in the opening pages of The House with a Clock in its Walls (1973) is somewhat similar to the strange tale of young Stephen:

It was, as far as I can ascertain, in September of the year 1811 that a postchaise drew up before the door of Aswarby Hall, in the heart of Lincolnshire. The little boy who was the only passenger in the chaise, and who jumped out as soon as it had stopped, looked about him with the keenest curiosity during the short interval that elapsed between the ringing of the bell and the opening of the hall door.

The post-chaise had brought him from Warwickshire, where, some six months before, he had been left an orphan. Now, owing to the generous offer of his elderly cousin, Mr Abney, he had come to live at Aswarby. The offer was unexpected, because all who knew anything of Mr Abney looked upon him as a somewhat austere recluse, into whose steadygoing household the advent of a small boy would import a new and, it seemed, incongruous element. The truth is that very little was known of Mr Abney's pursuits or temper.

Mr. Abney welcomes his young cousin Stephen to his new home:

Whatever may have been expected by his neighbours, it is certain that Mr Abney - the tall, the thin, the austere - seemed inclined to give his young cousin a kindly reception. The moment the front door was opened he darted out of his study, rubbing his hands with delight.

'How are you, my boy? - how are you? How old are you?' said he -'that is, you are not too much tired, I hope, by your journey to eat your supper?'

'No, thank you, sir,' said Master Elliott; I am pretty well.'

'That's a good lad,' said Mr Abney. 'And how old are you, my boy?'

It seemed a little odd that he should have asked the question twice in the first two minutes of their acquaintance.

'I'm twelve years old next birthday, sir,' said Stephen.

Young Stephen soon feels right at home and meets neighborly Mrs. Bunch.  After Lewis arrives to live with his uncle Jonathan, so too does he soon encounter his uncle's neighbor, Mrs. Florence Zimmermann.

Of course, this is where the "similarities" tend to end.

The BBC adapted "Lost Hearts" for television in the 1970s, too.