A classic Halloween ghost story: a young couple enjoy a life of bliss in their remote country cottage, and even make use of the local legends of "things that walk" to earn some money by writing. But on All Saints' Eve, they find that one of the legends may not be simply an old wives' tale... The story starts at 00:01:20
Narrated/performed by Simon Stanhope, aka Bitesized Audio. If you enjoy this content and would like to help me keep creating, there are a few ways you can support me (and get access to exclusive content):
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00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:20 Man-size in Marble
00:40:13 Credits, thanks and further listening
About the author: Although best remembered today for her children's stories, including 'The Railway Children', Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) also wrote several novels and numerous short stories for adults, many of them with a horror or supernatural theme. She was born in London, but after her father's death, when she was just three years old, she spent her formative years travelling with her family, living for periods in France, Spain, Germany and various parts of the south of England. She married Hubert Bland, a bank clerk, in 1880. She was several months pregnant at the time of the wedding, and they went on to have four children together; she also subsequently adopted two children born to her husband as the result of affairs.
The Blands were both active in Labour politics, and were co-founders of the Fabian Society in 1884. She lectured on socialism and politics, and wrote political essays, sometimes in collaboration with her husband under the name Fabian Bland, although she was less active in this area as she grew more successful as a writer of fiction. Her best known ghost stories include 'Man-size in Marble' and 'John Charrington's Wedding'.
'Man-size in Marble' was first published in the December 1887 issue of the Home Chimes magazine; it was subsequently reprinted in book form, as part of Nesbit's famous short story collection 'Grim Tales', in 1893.
Recording © Bitesized Audio 2022 (remastered 2024)