The Sound Of Halloween For Grownups: “The Ghost Stories Of Henry James”
Local studio BMA has produced a new audiobook of Henry James’ apparitional tales.
It’s not hard to suppose, with all the Gilded Age “cottages” (read: mansions) still standing in the Berkshires, that there would be ghosts lurking about. We’ve been told of sightings at Ventfort Hall, The Mount and other grand former homes in the area. And who knows, it’s possible that the ghost of novelist Henry James, a frequent guest of Edith Wharton at her estate in Lenox, has made a visit or two.
In any case, it’s certain that his spirit has come alive in a soon-to-be-released audiobook, The Ghost Stories of Henry James, produced here in the Berkshires by Berkshire Media Artists (BMA Audio) of Sheffield, Massachusetts. The collection of nine of “The Master’s” gothic tales is told by premier Berkshire-based stage, screen and audiobook actors. They’re joined by special guest Antonia Beamish, an award-winning voiceover artist and actress, who recorded the classic "The Return of the Screw" from her home studio in London.
The audiobook was three years in the making, said Jason Brown, producer and owner of BMA. He’s also a sound designer who works with the stage companies in the area. The complexity of James’ thoughts makes it challenging read — his work requires extra everything: the best direction, the most experienced narrators, a real understanding of what’s going on in the story.
“With Henry James, it’s so easy to get a word wrong. Directing his work is like a performance,” Brown said, “but I usually hire readers that don’t need much direction.”
That’s not all you need. “He’s like rich caviar, said Brown. “You need a little wine — sound — to wash it down.”
Don’t expect the usual creaky doors. The writer liked Beethoven, a composer Brown draws on for effect along with some other ghostly music. All befitting the nine stories that include, along with the masterwork “The Turn of the Screw,” “Sir Edward Orme,” featuring actor Mark Zeisler; “The Romance of Certain Old Clothes,” with local favorite Anne Undeland; “The Jolly Corner,” read by Shakespeare & Company regular Jonathan Epstein; “The Third Person,” with Alison Larkin as narrator; “Owen Wingrave,” featuring James Warwick; “The Real Right Thing,” with Corinna May; “The Ghostly Rental,” featuring Jim Frangione; and “The Way It Came,” with Antonia Beamish. If you frequent local theater, you’re probably familiar with most of these actors, who perform not only in the Berkshires but on Broadway and in film.
Henry James's Ghosts from Jason Slater Brown / BMA Studios on Vimeo.
Whether or not you believe in ghosts, here is one fact that’s incontrovertible: Berkshire County is home to recording studios and world-class audiobook narrators putting out countless audio versions of all genres. Brown began producing audiobooks while in the film and media business in New York and in the Berkshires working in visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull’s studios. His audio business grew incrementally, with narrators coming to him to record. They opened the doors to publishers and to Audible, the heavyweight player in audio storytelling. Narrators didn’t want to go to New York to record, and due to their credibility and talent, Brown was able to open his studio here. He’s been working with famous artists for several decades. Besides providing audio for major publishing houses, BMA publishes works independently (this James volume is one of those productions) and Audible takes on the distribution. And that’s good for the Berkshires economy.
“This is the only growing segment of the publishing business,” said Brown. “Readership is down, audio is up.”
Henry James is a natural for the Berkshires, considering his connection with Edith Wharton. But Brown’s association with Henry James comes with a pedigree: he’s actually related (by marriage) to the author. Brown’s grandfather married Mary James, who was a great-great-something niece to Henry James.
“She was quite a Jamesian character, a Bostonian Brahmin,” Brown said of his grandmother. “Her library consisted of first-edition Henry James. That’s when I first started falling in love with him. I didn’t like what I heard on other audio versions of his works, and I wanted to do my own.”
Jim Frangione, who’s recorded hundreds of audiobooks — many with Brown as engineer — jumped at chance to work on this project. The artistic director of Great Barrington Public Theater and a professional actor for 40-plus years (with the kind of voice you love to listen to, even over the phone), said that narrating affords an actor the opportunity to tell good stories, especially when they’re the words of Henry James. Although Frangione lives in the Berkshires, he didn’t need to be in Brown’s booth; he recorded from his home studio.
“I’m at one side in a sound booth, Jason is in another with his equipment,” he said, setting the scene. “I have an iPad, my herbal tea and Ricolas to keep me lubricated. You have to hydrate systemically to be able to read for four to six hours.”
Henry James is considered the father of the psychological ghost story who brought a modern, more realistic sensibility to the supernatural and human psyche. The stories are delicious and engrossing, with pitch-perfect storytelling by the seven superb and respected narrators.
Set to launch October 26 on Audible, the story collection, timed to be a Halloween treat, is “not that scary,” reassured Brown. “The stories are more like discovery. People in the time of these tales thought that if you cultivated your intellect to a sharp degree, you could gaze into the afterlife. The ghosts are more or less refined people.”
