19) “Green Tea” by Joseph S. Le Fanu

Plot:

As recorded by the medical secretary of (the fictional) Martin Hesselius, the German physician, this is one of the doctor’s many cases, beginning with a meeting of a country clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Jennings in London. Hesselius and Jennings seem to hit it off well enough. Jennings mentions being unable to obtain a book Hesselius wrote, Metaphysical Medicine. It has yet to be translated into English.

Hesselius agrees to bring him a copy of it.

Jennings later consults him. As much as he would like to, he is unable to perform his duties in his parish. He’s been hallucinating that a monkey follows him. The monkey first appeared harmless but became more sinister over time.

Thoughts:

To the modern reader, this will seem slow-moving—and a lot of ramblings about 18th century mystic Emanuel Swedenborg—but the time spent describing Jennings is to show (…again…) that he is not a wingnut. Jennings thinks; he reads and has traveled. After a brief conversation with him, Hesselius is able to tell their mutual friend, Lady Mary Heyduke, many striking things about Rev. Jennings. For example, he states (and Lady Mary confirms) that one of Rev. Jennings’ parents saw a ghost.

The narrative is creepy and atmospheric. Despite his best efforts, poor Rev. Jennings is pursued by some hostile spirit he can do nothing about. Hesselius listens.

It’s quite Sherlock-Holmesy, but Le Fanu wrote this some eighteen years before the first published Sherlock Holmes story, “A Study in Scarlet.” If Martin Hesselius sounds a bit like Abraham Van Helsing of Dracula fame, it is because the character is believed to have been one of the inspirations for Stoker’s professor of the occult.

Le Fanu was widely read in his day, and inspired Stoker among other writers. Some of his stuff is funny and holds up well. Outside of Carmilla (1871-1872), Le Fanu’s lesbian vampire story, most modern readers ignore his writings.

This story left me with mixed feelings. The genuinely creepy elements are fun, but it moves slowly, and the ending is tragic and silly.



The story can be read here.

The story can be listened to here. (approx. 1 hour, 45 minutes)

Bio: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was an Irish writer of Huguenot descent. His early writings include a group of short stories initially published anonymously in The Dublin University Magazine in the guise of the literary remains of the (fictional) Father Frances Purcell (“The Purcell Papers” 1838-1850). These rage from the creepy (“Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter”) to the silly (“The Quare Gander.”)

His writings influenced such authors as M. R. James. The vampire novella, “Carmilla,” influenced Bram Stoker’s Dracula.


Title: “Green Tea”
Author: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873)
First published: All Year Round, October 23, 1869