The Topley Place Sale by A. N. L. Munby
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- Alan Noel Latimer Munby (25 December 1913 - 26 December 1974) was a distinguished English librarian, bibliographical scholar, and book collector, noted for his contributions to the study of rare books and manuscripts. Additionally, he gained recognition as an author of ghost stories, influenced by the style of M. R. James.
Munby was born in Hampstead, the son of architect Alan E. Munby and Ethel Greenhill. He received his education at Clifton College and later attended King's College, Cambridge, where he acquired the nickname "Tim."
Munby's career encompassed various roles in the antiquarian book trade, including positions at Bernard Quaritch Ltd. and Sotheby & Company. During World War II, he served in the British Army and was later held as a prisoner of war. Following the war, he assumed the role of Librarian at King's College, Cambridge, and was subsequently appointed as a fellow. He held esteemed positions such as the J.P.R. Lyell Reader in Bibliography at the University of Oxford and the Sandars Reader in Bibliography at the University of Cambridge. Munby was also a co-founder of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society and served as President of the Bibliographical Society until his passing in 1974.
Munby's scholarly works include a comprehensive study of the eccentric nineteenth-century book collector Sir Thomas Phillipps, as well as a series of Sale Catalogues of Libraries of Eminent Persons. He collaborated posthumously on a union list of British Book Sale Catalogues, 1676-1800, with Lenore Coral.
In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Munby authored a collection of ghost stories titled "The Alabaster Hand." Three of these tales were written during his internment in Oflag VII-B, a German prisoner-of-war camp, and were featured in the prison-camp magazine, Touchstone. The stories, namely "The Topley Place Sale," "The Four Poster," and "The White Sack," received acclaim for their subtle yet chilling narrative style, reminiscent of the tradition established by M. R. James.
"The Alabaster Hand" was published in 1949 by Dennis Dobson Ltd.
Music by The Heartwood Institute
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/ @classicghost
Brilliant, cup of tea in hand, laying across the sofa, enjoying a ghost story and then to bed, perfect end to my day......
Thanks Tony.Please could you do some more new sleep radio?Really helps me .Half way through first cycle of chemotherapy .You help me and husband relax.Cheers.
Hope that you are doing well,
I've finished the 3rd round and am beginning to feel a lot better!!
Fortunately each round of chemo has been decades apart, so I ought not complain!
Kindest Regards and Best Wishes for Your Future Good Health!!
Hi Angela! Sending you peace, comfort and a hug from Egypt❤️
Thanks so much Tony. Much appreciated.
Enjoyed this. Great little story.
Thanks for listening
Lovely little story, well narrated. Enjoyed the end waffling. Thank you, Tony!
Just sitting down to dinner after a long, trying day and! Wow! It's Mr. Walker to the rescue! Thank you SO much! Cheers!
I've just had one of those weeks!!
So, I agree 💯 with your comment and I hope you have a great weekend and a brilliant week ahead!!
Namasté 🙏🕊️💞🌟
Andréa and Jasper. ...XxX...
Your anecdote about the man with ADHD is so sad. I suffer from a handful of mental issues, including ADHD, and I would not be able to survive if my family had not learned to accept me. I hope he has other people in his life who will treat him with love, or at least look out for him. I think one of the worst things for a human being is to be alone and have no one. Thank you for the stories and the ramblings, Tony. I always appreciate them.
Both my husband and I have it too. I feel very lucky we found each other; we are able to understand it and give each other grace when we are suffering. ❤
I love your ramblings at the end because you remind me of an English professor (the kind where all the kids want to take your classes because you're fun and interesting) and you say, "Let's talk about the story." So, we talk about the story, but we also compare it to the other stories and authors we've "done", as well as take some side trips. We are really getting a class session as well as a story.
It’s my own enthusiasm spilling over really
My weekend starts as soon as I listen to your Friday uploads Thank you Tony for all your hard work
Drat is the most vulgar four-letter word I have ever heard, I can't believe that came out of your mouth, I am shocked and shook to my core, Tony Walker. I'm going to go wash my own mouth out with soap now. Oh, you narrated The Topley Place with excellence, you haver made my day, thank you. 🥰
You weren't raised by a United States Marine like I was.
😂
Drat was a favorite of WC Fields.
@@kemperkey5750 I was kidding, I have a filthy mouth. I have been warned by Team TH-cam a few times. I wasn't raised by a United States Marine but I raised one myself.
He was though. I happen to know.
I love how your mind jumps about and drops threads and picks them up and searches for words. It reminds me of my friends.
It does annoy a few people though
@@ClassicGhost if people won’t make room for a mind (and voice) as expressive as yours, they don’t matter. Like I tell my sons-there is only one you in the universe and you are unique. Be the best you that you can be.
Thanks so much, Tony. Much needed and appreciated, also this time around
You're very welcome
Hi, dear Tony! I would never have said "hell" in front of my parents, either. However, in the '70s, "drat" was offbeat enough that i could get away with it! After all, W.C. Fields said it from time to time! ❤
I love you're stories. So relaxing. Keep up the awesome work.❤😊
classic little story. thank you
Thank you Tony! xo
That's exactly why I listen, to go somewhere else!
To visit, with my ears and mind a place I have no hope of ever really seeing.
Even your chats, let me imagine a different life, (not necessarily better than I have), a chance to see through someone else's thoughts and observations.
For someone whom is too dyslexic to drive, that is a big thing.
Thanks for bringing another adventure of the mind.
😊
Oh my!
🤦🏼♀️ Sincere apologies for thoughtless spoiler.
Glad it's gone.
Ferrari brain, bicycle brakes!
🏎🚲💥🔥🔥🔥
Another good story read, and another good bonus story told afterward, by Tony Walker.
I spent a lot of my life working in an auction house, I am very excited for this one.
I love that Dunton sounds like one of the cast of Lawrence of Arabia...I think it's General Allenby 😊
Enjoy all your chat after the story
I've just Had an absolute T*rd of a week!!
Tony Walker's 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Narration has turned my frown upside down!!🙂👍
Thank you Tony,
Jasper Mutt is by my side, listening and tail wagging, hopeful that you are going to mention
that he's a Good Boy.
(I'm sorry, it's his Favorite part, ~the Philistine!)
Right, I'm going to settle down to listen properly now!! ☺️
Namasté 🙏🕊️💞🌟
Andréa and Jasper. ...XxX...
That was lots of fun.
Thank you Tony!
The story is simply Karma at its best 😉 Perfect Narration ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐❤️
Great reading !! 📚
I'm going in for the second listen...
Thank you Tony! 😊
My pleasure!
I liked it very much, thank you!
I loved the story. Have you looked into kickstater to do the magazine?
No. it sounds complicated:)
I really like the thumbnail.
Almost forgot...loads of love to Jasper and Ruby ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Ruby was speyed and told she must stay still for 14 days (or no stretching, walking) but she’s been running g around like a rocket !
@ClassicGhost Been there. I've got a male Morkie and a female Yorkiepoo, both "fixed" (is it just me or is that a weird way to express something not previously "broken?") Both refused to slow down during the healing process. Kiss her precious head for me 💜
Amazon are currently selling a paperback edition of the alabaster hand for £12.00, if you are interested… other booksellers may have it for less.
I really enjoyed this story, hence my search for the collection on line … and yes, eBay and abe have incredibly expensive, collectors editions (sigh) abe also have the edition on Amazon, but not so cheap.
Thanks for bringing such wonderful tales to our attention for our delight …. And delightfully read as always!
Love the art work. And the story. And the narration. As always. 😊
Thanks Shelley
Love this story , captivating also this time around, Elegant, story, narration-I would move into Big House in a heart beat--with fortune attached, billions in today's money. Let us know about the magazine! thanks for all of your hard work for us, Tony.
You’d probably only need about £10 M
Piece of cake :0) .....@@ClassicGhost
“Apparently his heart had been giving him trouble for years.”
Oh, yes; you mean because he hadn’t one, or at least not one uncorrupted by greed, elitism, & selfishness.
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Yes, traditional ghost stories, as our fairey tales & folk tales, are there to expand our understanding of the human condition & shower shame where deserved upon ill tempered righteousness in all walks of life- including the supernatural.
Lovely short story.
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Looking forward to a potential magazine. Would I be correct in assuming this would be similar to the sort of pamphlet style Victorian distributions? Also, excited to hear an artist would be employed rather than the AI illustrations- not that you haven’t begun to employ this application to real skill, for I find the new images really lovely. 😊🎉
The thing about Munby is that he wrote all his ghost stories while sitting out WWII in a PoW camp, and though he lived almost 30 years after liberation he never wrote another one.
Fantastic story and narration! This is so well-written. It flows so well. Awesome plot. It is a wonderful present for my birthday.
This retired sailor would buy those pistols in a heartbeat.
The nephew sounds like an insufferable chap. This is a great example of "the greedy heir" (you just called Dunton "vile" as I am writing this) and getting one's just deserts.
You are correct; good writing is hard to come by. I feel it is becoming less and less common.
This story is a true gem! Thanks!
❤ This is my kind of story. Thanks Tony!
Neat!
Like it!!!❤ tell us the stories about London Underground next time
Thank you 🙏
Your ‘stream-of-consciousness’ commentary makes me laugh. Thanks 😂
Perhaps a Print on Demand for the Magazine to start with?!
Jasper is sulking a little, but I'm going back to play your Wittering to the end of the story you'd Narrated where your dog's made an appearance and hope that this will help placate the scruffy little rogue!!
P.S.
Do you think you might add some recipes from Shelia in your magazine, I would think this would work well with the folk-tale, her folk remedies & heritage distillations. Just a thought.
I’m sure whatever you do will be worth the investment. You have a real fan base.
I can’t see that . it’s a different project with Alan
There was an American cartoon in the 60s..wacky racers i think. Drat drat and double drat...was voiced many times... lol
Thanks, T. Loved it, AAAAGAINNNN.
I only have one criticism of the story itself, and that is---I wish the bullet hole had been through the heart of Dunstan's (or whatever his name is) portrait, instead of the forehead, since he died of a heart attack or heart failure. Well read, Tony---loved it! Short and Sweet. As for Midsommer Murders---oddly, I just TRIED for the first time to watch one last night. Couldn't do it. After I enjoyed seeing several familiar British Actors and Actresses as guest stars, for about 15 minutes or so---I found the writing so stupid I had to turn it off. Funny you brought that up in your ramble.
Yes, the hike through the heart would have been neater !
I don't know if you're ready for this momentous news. But, here it is. Now my dog, Loki insists on laying next to me at bedtime and also being regaled by these brilliant stories. I just wish the stories weren't so gas inducing for him!😮
Well Im very pleased he likes the stories but very sorry to hear about the gas . It can be very trying
@@ClassicGhost indeed
Audubon folio was sold by subscription I believe. Will you accept a subscription prior to printing for a magazine? Could an old fashioned bank check work?
A check wouldn’t work unfortunately as last time i got a US check Inhad to get a train to Edinburgh (100 miles) to find a bank that would process it. they took 6 weeks and charged about 30%!
I liked the story because we were on the ghost's side. I don't like real scary, but I like supernatural, like the movie Ghost, we empathize with the ghost (Patrick Swazey) .
With the magazine idea - could you crowd fund, at least the first issue. Have the second and third issues as stretch targets, over a scale of reward for carious levels of funding - from Feeling Virtuous to Deus ex Machina who gets an issue dedicated to them :)
These are all good ideas, the only problem is what if we don;t reach our target?
👍
Well TH-cam, removed my comments and suggestions for sponsorship/advertising options so not sure how to convey them to you.
Did they !? i did t know they did that
You will be legendary, Tony.
Fictional is for other sorts, not you.
ha!
@@ClassicGhost I'm picturing the statue now, you with a book in one hand and a microphone in the other, Jasper and Ruby with a shredded script at your feet.
And of course, pigeons.
@@ropeburnsrussell it sounds heroic
@@ClassicGhost you and Nelson, Tony.
blush
Hmm... I'm pondering in my sleep-deprived brain your statement about whether or not it's ethical to tell someone you will only have a relationship with them if they get on psychoactive meds. Is it always unethical? Why? I'm in a situation with 3 roommates. 2 of the roommates would like me to move with them to a different abode. I'm hesitant to do so, because of the unmedicated and unmanaged mental health issues of one of the roommates. I'm fond of this person, but their paranoia, perseverance, anxiety and unusual thinking+reactions can make sharing a dwelling difficult at times. Others in the household have told this person they need to get on meds. I'm now questioning if I would be acting in an unethical manner if I said I would only move to another place with the roommate if a good working relationship with a team of mental health professionals was in place before we all started looking for new housing. Odd post on a story channel, but you started it, Tony! 😅
well my background is that i trained as a psychiatric nurse when anti psychiatry was a thing. Then i trained as an AMHP and so i’ve always been clear that no one should be coerced into to taking psychotropic medication. That would be unethical for a professional so I guess that’s where i’m coming from. also they only work (antidepressants anyway ) for 30% of those who take them
@@ClassicGhost yes, totally unethical. I'm an add-autistic and do a lot of peer support. In the groups I run we have the idea that sometimes you need to take the medication before you can be in a place where you can decide if you want to take the medication or not :) That's for adults who have competency - which should always be presumed until proven otherwise. For children I've seen many parents try the "suck it and see" approach and the child is as involved as possible with the decision to start, continue and stop. Medication can make a huge positive difference, as well as have negative consequences. With a truly ethical approach of informed consent it can be lifechanging.
For the flatshare, I wouldn't have a problem saying that, if I truly believed it. However, that's an autistic approach based the experience of many of us not knowing how we impact on the world around us; without that data we can't make informed choices. And totally agree that it needs to be a full package of support, not just medication.
What a smug disrespectful person i cant taake 3 min of them people.
Ble mae magned fy oergell?
Sgeni ‘m syniad. Lle welist ti hi ddiwetha ?
@@ClassicGhostY cyfan a welaf ar werth yw crysau, mygiau a bagiau.
ah dwi’n deall. dwi ddim yn siwr eu bod nhwn’n gwneud magnedau . A dweud y gwir ychydig iawn bydda i’n gwerthu o unrywbeth
@@ClassicGhostBydd pobl yn talu mwy oherwydd ei fod yn bennaf yn rhodd.
Your comment "They may as well have been fictional" as regards the unreported departed rank and file" cannot in my view be more wrong. I predict before you shuffle off this mortal coil you will realise that and why.
i hope so 🤞
@@ClassicGhost Me too.👍
…A very basic, not particularly imaginative little tale…..”Meh” sums it up for me.
I thought it was rather elegantly structured and the villain of the piece nicely (both meanings) drawn. It's all good though, to like or not to like :) For example I've read the Basil Copper anthologies , including the lauded Pons tales, and was left with meh overall and grinding teeth for some.
"If I don't accept his crap behavior, and put conditions on my staying the relationship, I'm being very unethical". Seriously meant? Or an ADHD-colored misstatement of actual attitude?
+@kkuro7054 i answered this below but ill do it again. so professionally it was underlined to me to never coerce someone into taking psychotropic medication. in fact its illegal in the UK. so that has become such an instinctive response that it’s a personal attitude.l. Now i would consider it unethical to pressurise someone into taking meds when they haven’t sought them themselves.
@@ClassicGhost My apologies for not checking the comments, I should have stopped and looked before I spoke. I'm of a similar background and agree completely; that's not what I was referring to. If I misunderstood what you were describing I apologize, but it sounded like you were expecting a patient's _relative_ to assume the role and responsibility of medical professionals.
If you're simply judging her for setting boundaries, that only reflects on you; if in your work you're coercing her, directly or through the patient, to disregard them, _that_ would be unethical to me, and would be to every body I've been taught, licensed, or employed by. (Which is not to say it doesn't happen, routinely. And maybe 95% of the time I've seen it, the relative so pressured is female -- as you were describing.)
Apologies. It's been a long week, and long year. Thank you for replying, and, of course, thank you for this and all the other readings!
And I should add, that coercion does happen. “Come on Charlie, take your meds then you can get home quicker “ “Take them for me”’etc
Nicely done.