The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - R. A. Dick
Audio performance by Elizabeth Jasicki
4 stars

This one made me miss my mother. We watched the black and white 1947 movie version many times. Rex Harrison was well cast as the irascible ghost, Captain Daniel Gregg. The movie didn’t quite capture just how much this sweet story was a feminist protest. Lucy Muir reminded me of Townsend Warner’s Lolly Willows. I was surprised to find this pro-woman theme in a book from a male author until I realized that R.A. Dick was the pen name of Josephine Aimee Campbell Leslie.

I am shedding some soft tears as I listen to the last few moments of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Whatever possessed me to borrow this book? Nostalgia. I remembered how much I loved the old black and white film with Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. When I found the book on Audible Plus, I snatched it up eagerly and there is sat on my shelf with all the rest of the books I’ve borrowed and never got around to reading – until yesterday. This is not a page flipping suspense thriller, but it was an extremely pleasant entertainment for my walks in the neighborhood yesterday and today.

Lucy enters into a loveless marriage to Edwin Muir; she is penniless, and the marriage afforded some financial security. The marriage also afforded a home already show more inhabited by a pushy domineering mother-in-law and two equally pushy domineering sisters-in-law. Presently the almost invisible Edwin disappears from the story altogether after losing most of his money in a poor stock market investment, dying, and leaving his wife a widow at the age of 31. Lucy is now free to live her life as she sees fit, albeit on a very tight budget. She finds a house by the sea, far away from the domineering eyes and tongues of her in-laws. Despite a rental of only One Pound per month, no prior tenant has ever lasted even one day in Gull House. Lucy insists on renting the house despite the estate agent’s remonstrations. She is nonplussed at rumors that it is haunted by the Sea Captain who built and later died in the house. Lucy moves her two small children into Gull House, where she lives out her life more or less how she pleases over the next hundred and fifty pages, has a bitter-sweet romance with a scoundrel, and ghost writes a book (pun intended). She and the sea captain remain in the house happily ever after!

Published in 1945, under a pseudonym, this may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is a sweet diversion, and I loved it. The book is almost always available in one form or another from the library, free with audible plus, and immediately available in audio on Hoopla (if your library subscribes). The 1947 Mankiewicz film was also delightful – look for it! show less

I fell in love with the 1947 movie based on this book many years ago and so I was looking forward to reading the original story which was published in 1945. The author, Josephine Leslie decided to hide her gender and published under the name R.A. Dick but to me, it was quite obviously written by a woman. The story is of Lucy Muir, a young widow who defies her overbearing in-laws and moves herself and her two children to Gull Cottage on the seaside. The cottage is for rent at a very reduced price and she soon learns why. It is haunted by Captain Daniel Gregg and he is not shy about making his presence felt.

The crusty old sea captain and the dainty Mrs. Muir learn to get along remarkably well and she comes to rely on his companionship. show more They help each other, ignoring both the spiritual and physical boundaries that exist between them. When Lucy experiences money difficulties, the captain dictates his life story to her and it becomes a best selling book. Both these characters evolve through the years, Lucy becoming a stronger person, more able to stand up for her rights, while the Captain learns patience, understanding and gentleness.

An original and unusual love story in that passion isn’t part of the relationship at all. Instead through their humorous exchanges, the characters learn to understand, like and respect each other. Unlike the movie, Lucy never “sees” the captain, he is simply a voice that speaks in her mind. Nevertheless, they are a delightful couple and I found the book very entertaining. show less

Once more, I find myself reading a book upon which a favorite movie has been based. Even though I've never been a fan of either Gene Tierney or Rex Harrison, the 1947 screen adaptation of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir has always been a favorite. Since I don't care for the actors, I think it's safe to say that it's all due to the story.

The movie actually follows along rather closely to the book, only changing the chronology from time to time and having Mrs. Muir have just one child-- an excision I could understand completely.

At the very beginning of the book, we are told that Lucy Muir is a little woman, but it takes no time at all to see that the only people who call her little are those who go through life with blinders on-- and those who show more insist on keeping her "in her place." R.A. Dick's novel is so much more than a ghost story; it's about a woman who insists on living the life that she wants without other people telling her what to do.

My experiences in reading books that have been the source of favorite movies have been a bit hit-or-miss, but I'm happy to say that reading The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is a success. Both book and film are well done. Both stand the test of time, and both can bring a tear to the eye. show less

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir follows the life and times of Mrs. Lucy Muir, a young widow and mother of two, in search of a life that is truly her own, away from the influence of her in-laws and others. Her search leads her to purchase the former house of Captain Daniel Gregg, who stills haunts its halls (which Lucy is fully aware of when she decides to live there...interesting). Even with her new move, Lucy's quest for independence (of thought and action) is not without challenge from former and new influences in her life.

Imediately, I felt that Lucy Muir was so much more than what most who knew and met her supposed she was--"poor little Mrs. Muir", the demure, timid little creature that everyone must take care of and tell what to do, for show more her own good of course. (I got the impression that she's just introverted, but is mistakened for being shy, which helped me connect to her that much more. She'll politely listen to and consider your advice and enjoy your company for a while, but prefers to make her final decisions and spend most of her time alone.) I'm sure the woman they "knew" her to be would not have willingly moved into a house haunted by a salty old sea captain, speaking to him and seeking his advice regularly. (Neither would she have gotten involved with anyone like Miles.) And so she was, so much more. And I really loved the spice the captain brought out in her.

I loved both Mrs. Muir and the ghost of Captain Gregg, flaws and all. (I couldn't help picturing them as Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison.) Though, at one point, I got really angry and disappointed concerning her behavior with Miles (and how she took out her feelings on others). But I suppose that that was all part of the growing up she had to do. I laughed every time the captain intervened, and at the candid, though often rude remarks, he made about and toward different characters in the book. I truly appreciated the wisdom that Leslie (that's Josephine Aimee Campbell Leslie who penned this book under the pseudonym R. A. Dick) poured through (Professor Higgins..., I mean,) the captain.

The ending was sad in some ways and happy in others (when you consider the whole of her life and her descendants), and yet always anticipated (at least, I expected it). Leslie's prose seemed to appropriately depict an aging mind, which, I thought, is very powerful in its impact on the reader.

A very interesting, very entertaining book. One of the best books I've read in a while. I laughed, I frowned,...I cried..., I mean, my tear ducts malfunctioned...*clears throat*. show less

I received this from a friend for Christmas, and her gift theme this year was books that were the basis for famous movies. It's been years since I've seen the film The Ghost and Mrs Muir (and I didn't even know about the sitcom series from the 60s), and I'll admit up front that I had no idea the movie was based on a book, so I went into the book with no preconceived expectations. Turns out, I love this book!

The story follows Lucy Muir, who strikes out on her own after the death of her husband. Due to a large amount of debt that he left her, and trying to escape the overbearing, constant presence of his family in her life, she decides that all she needs in life for her and her children is a place of their own and solitude for herself. show more After being shown Gull Cottage in the village of Whitecliff, Lucy decides on the spot that she must live there, even though she is warned very strongly about moving there because the house is haunted. Determined not to let something as simple as a ghost deter her from her dreams of independence, she moves into the house anyway and ends up forming a friendship with the ghost of sea captain Daniel Gregg. Over the course of her life and through multiple struggles, she and Captain Gregg become more than just friends, and ultimately the story grows beyond her story to become their story.

This is a charming and quick read. I finished the book in one reading, and is the perfect book to sit down with a cup of tea on a chilly winter afternoon and enjoy. show less

I love this story - not sure why, Mrs. Muir is constantly being badgered about and managed. She escapes her husband's family only to run into a managing ghost...Captain Gregg is mostly very annoying, except when he's utterly wonderful. He screws up mightily a few times, and every time he apologizes and tries to make things better (though mostly he can't). Lucy Muir also screws up a few times, though usually more by omission than commission - letting others direct her actions rather than standing up for herself. I like Anna, and dislike Cyril, exactly as I'm supposed to. Anna's disgust at falling into such a conventional life is wonderful - it's one short scene, but I love it. And the end is not at all surprising, but it's lovely. I've show more seen the movie at least a couple times; I really can't remember whether I've read the book before. I certainly know the story, but whether I got it from the book or the movie I don't know. The foreword, in my edition, spends a good deal of time praising the movie's screenwriter, who modified the book to make a better movie without destroying its story (as all too many screenwriters have done to other books). I wonder if anyone's published the movie novelization; that would be interesting to compare to the original. But I guess I'll just have to watch the movie again, and compare it that way... show less