| "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by M.R. James | |
 | |
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror |
| Publication | |
| Publication date | 1904 |
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James. It was published in his book Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904).
The tale tells the story of Somerton, a scholar of medieval history, who tells a rector the frightening tale of how, while searching an abbey library, he found clues leading him to the hidden treasure of a disgraced abbot.
In 1974, the story was adapted as part of the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas strand by John Bowen as The Treasure of Abbot Thomas . [1] It was first broadcast on 23 December 1974 at 11.35. [2] The adaptation stars Michael Bryant as Somerton, and it was directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark.
In creating his adaptation, Bowen changed a number of elements of M. R. James's story, such as including another character – Peter, Lord Dattering (Paul Lavers) [3] – as Somerton's protégé, with whom he shares his investigation. The story is not told in flashback, and also includes a scene in which Somerton exposes two fraudulent mediums, which acts as a demonstration of Somerton's rational approach to the supernatural. [4]
A parody, written by Stephen Sheridan and named The Teeth of Abbot Thomas, was made for radio broadcast.
Montague Rhodes James was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (1913–1915).
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The Treasure of Abbot Thomas is a 1974 supernatural drama produced by the BBC as part of its A Ghost Story for Christmas series. Running at 37 minutes and directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, it was written by John Bowen with an atmospheric musical score by Geoffrey Burgon. Based on the 1904 short story "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" by M. R. James, the drama was originally broadcast on 23 December 1974 and starred Michael Bryant and Paul Lavers.
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The full text of The Treasure of Abbot Thomas at Wikisource