The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
‘ Whoever touches them, beware.’
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas – M. R. James
Welcome to M. R. James month. The Treasure of Abbot Thomas takes us back to the cosy M.R. James sub-genre of ‘academics getting into trouble on holiday’, or in this case an academic going on holiday to get in trouble. If the academic theme is a surprise, you obviously missed the impressive amount of unfriendly — untranslated, come on some of us took German —Latin. Don’t panic if it all sounds…well like a dead language, all will become clear and if it doesn’t, there is always google translate.
Our hero Somerton is a glorified tomb robber (antiquary if you must) who unravels a riddle hidden in a stained-glass window. Ignoring all the usual warning signs of supernatural doom, he pops off to Germany with his servant to see if he can find a large amount of gold hidden by the late Abbot Thomas.
There are the usual lovely touches of breaking and entering to carry off something you have no legal right to and feeling like you’re being watched. There’s also the added bonus of a creepy smell of mould that disappears in the morning, not to mention the shameless breaking in/disruption of a historical site. The more I reread these stories, the more I wonder if M.R. James’ creatures are really just hacked off employees of the National Trust.
I defy you not to read this and feel very sorry for Gregory the clergyman and Brown the servant, who are sent off to do all the hard work while our hero faffs about a bit and either gets in the way or collapses.
Unfortunately, the scare factor is reduced by the story structure itself. M. R. James reveals most of the action via a fussy monologue told to an inexplicable patient clergyman Gregory, who Somerton drags over to Germany to put the treasure back. So, however bad the ghoul is, we know our hero survives. Which is no fun at all. Still, if you like puzzles, academics on holiday and grumpy creatures that hang around down wells, this is the tale for you.
Also, there are tentacles. Tentacles.
Verdict
** (2 screaming nightmares out of 5)
Not frightening at all but there are tentacles people. Extra star for tentacles.
M. R. James bingo
The usual foolish academic on holiday destroying historical artefacts and making future archaeologists cry. Same old, but no Golf or book abuse. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever get Bingo.
Ditching friends or offers of company on holiday- Getting into trouble on said holiday
Book abuseIgnoring the blindingly obvious facts/hints of othersGolf- Interfering with an archaeological site
- 19th century snobbery
The Story
The story can be found in James’s anthology Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904) and is included in most later collections of his stories. Depending on your country and copyright restrictions, you may be able to access the book legally and for free via Project Gutenberg.
The brilliant people at literature wiki have put together an excellent synopsis here.
K.M. Cooke 