Compiled by Charles Dickens, Mugby Junction is a intriguing composite of tales ranging from horror to a realistic portrayal of life around a bustling Victorian railway station. Published for the first time in its entirety, it contains one of Dickens's most celebrated ghost stories, The Signalman. Arriving at Mugby Junction in an attempt to escape his unhappy past, Barbox Brothers befriends a workman and his invalid daughter. With their help he sets his sights on discovering which of the seven lines of the junction will most aid him in his journey of escape. In exploring one such line, he meets 'the woman he had lost', only to return to Mugby Junction once this has played out. Staying there, and continuing his friendship with the workman and his daughter, he collects together the myriad stories he hears tell of at the junction.
Mugby Junction
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'Mystery is thus of the essence from the opening paragraphs, which are crammed with brief, cryptic stabs of dialogue and description that instantly evoke feelings of disorientation, fear and loss' Includes 'Dickens' own terrific ghost story 'The Signalman', in which a mysterious stranger's recurring appearances precede railway disasters.' --Washington Times
From the Author
‘The different ‘story-lines’ of Mugby Junction differently register what one character calls the ‘perilous and marvellous’ qualities of the railways. Together, they form a collection which celebrates the potential of the new technology to link previously distant people and places, but which is also anxious at the new types of violence it has brought into being’ – Robert Macfarlane
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"Guard! What place is this?" Read the first page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt
"Guard! What place is this?" Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
First published in 1866, Dickens and friends produced a small classic in this book centring arond the train station at Mugby Junction. This book contains The Signalman, probably the greatest short ghost story ever written. Also amongst its pages are stories showing the gallows humour of people throwing themselves under trains, and my personal favourite, a story of what goes on in a train station cafe. I now know where the jokes about British Rail sandwiches originate from. I am always telling people that they must get this book it is really that good.
This book includes:-
Barbox Brothers - Charles Dickens
Barbox Brothers and Co. - Charles Dickens
The Boy at Mugby - Charles Dickens
The Signalman - Charles Dickens
The Engine-driver - Andrew Halliday
The Compensation House - Charles Collins
The Travelling Post Office - Hesba Stretton
The Engineer - Amelia Edwards
This book includes:-
Barbox Brothers - Charles Dickens
Barbox Brothers and Co. - Charles Dickens
The Boy at Mugby - Charles Dickens
The Signalman - Charles Dickens
The Engine-driver - Andrew Halliday
The Compensation House - Charles Collins
The Travelling Post Office - Hesba Stretton
The Engineer - Amelia Edwards
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a railfan and a Dickens lover, I had always wanted to read this. It turns out to be a very mixed bag.
The star feature is The Signalman, which in my experience is both Dickens' best short story and one of the best British short horror stories; the eponymous hero is truly haunted, not just by a spectre but by a very real fear of dereliction of duty. However, I'd read it before, as it appears in many anthologies of horror/railway stories.
The next best for me is The Boy at Mugby, which depicts the utter scorn which, many Victorians public believed, was shown to them by railway staff and by refreshment rooms in particular. (Brunel would agree, see his description of the coffee on offer at Swindon station as "ineffably bad"; see also "Ernest Struggles", informally aka confessions of a Victorian station-master.)
After that the collection goes downhill. The two other Dickens stories about "Barbox Brothers" are favoured by some Dickens lovers, but for me lapse into one of his major weaknesses, a dubious mixture of sentiment and mysticism. The other four stories are by contemporaries of Dickens, and appear to have been written (to quote M R James) to "fill up the volume".
Overall, without The Signalman and The Boy at Mugby this would be fairly dull stuff.
The star feature is The Signalman, which in my experience is both Dickens' best short story and one of the best British short horror stories; the eponymous hero is truly haunted, not just by a spectre but by a very real fear of dereliction of duty. However, I'd read it before, as it appears in many anthologies of horror/railway stories.
The next best for me is The Boy at Mugby, which depicts the utter scorn which, many Victorians public believed, was shown to them by railway staff and by refreshment rooms in particular. (Brunel would agree, see his description of the coffee on offer at Swindon station as "ineffably bad"; see also "Ernest Struggles", informally aka confessions of a Victorian station-master.)
After that the collection goes downhill. The two other Dickens stories about "Barbox Brothers" are favoured by some Dickens lovers, but for me lapse into one of his major weaknesses, a dubious mixture of sentiment and mysticism. The other four stories are by contemporaries of Dickens, and appear to have been written (to quote M R James) to "fill up the volume".
Overall, without The Signalman and The Boy at Mugby this would be fairly dull stuff.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Marmoset
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
3 chapters and 60 pages of disconnected and disjointed prose. It reads like a series of ideas for stories, possibly sketched out by Dickens on trains, that never came to anything.
Chapter 1 starts like a ghost story. A mysterious man, known only as "Barbox Bros" (from the name of his firm) alights at Mugby Junction in the dead of night and finds the place deserted and in total darkness. At this point the atmosphere is spine tingling and there are some good descriptions of the various "ghost trains" (e.g. "night freights like funerals") that pass through the station. "BB" then meets a mysterious railway employee called "Lamps" (c.f. "The Signal Man") before leaving the station to find lodgings in the town.
"BB" seems to be running away from his firm to discover his true self (c.f. Scrooge) and in Chapter 2 he finds that "Lamps" has a daughter "Phoebe" who is (of course) terribly, terribly sweet and kind to everyone ("Little Dorrit"). There are 7 lines leading from Mugby Junction and he tries on each one in turn then returns to Mugby Junction to seek Phoebe's advice on where he should finally settle. Eventually, he plumps for the first line which, apparently, goes to Wales (so I guess Mugby must be modelled on Crewe) where he meets a lost child, takes her back to his hotel room (which would definitely not be allowed today!) before meeting her family (basically "Bob Cratchet and Tiny Tim") and taking pity on them. The child's mother is a music teacher, so he returns to Mugby Junction and employs her to teach "Phoebe" music (presumably after buying her a season ticket from Wales!)
I thought that Chapter 3 might have tied all this together but none of the above characters is ever mentioned again.... Read more ›
Chapter 1 starts like a ghost story. A mysterious man, known only as "Barbox Bros" (from the name of his firm) alights at Mugby Junction in the dead of night and finds the place deserted and in total darkness. At this point the atmosphere is spine tingling and there are some good descriptions of the various "ghost trains" (e.g. "night freights like funerals") that pass through the station. "BB" then meets a mysterious railway employee called "Lamps" (c.f. "The Signal Man") before leaving the station to find lodgings in the town.
"BB" seems to be running away from his firm to discover his true self (c.f. Scrooge) and in Chapter 2 he finds that "Lamps" has a daughter "Phoebe" who is (of course) terribly, terribly sweet and kind to everyone ("Little Dorrit"). There are 7 lines leading from Mugby Junction and he tries on each one in turn then returns to Mugby Junction to seek Phoebe's advice on where he should finally settle. Eventually, he plumps for the first line which, apparently, goes to Wales (so I guess Mugby must be modelled on Crewe) where he meets a lost child, takes her back to his hotel room (which would definitely not be allowed today!) before meeting her family (basically "Bob Cratchet and Tiny Tim") and taking pity on them. The child's mother is a music teacher, so he returns to Mugby Junction and employs her to teach "Phoebe" music (presumably after buying her a season ticket from Wales!)
I thought that Chapter 3 might have tied all this together but none of the above characters is ever mentioned again.... Read more ›
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
First dickens that I have read: the stories are fun, if not a little surreal at times... Chapter 3 is a funny satire on the state of English hospitality
By MEW1
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is not one of Dickens better known books but I was attracted to it because I believe it was based on Rugby's railway station and Rugby is my home town!
The story line is not as strong as some of Dickens better known novels but his attention to the various characters details is typical of all his work.
The reason I only gave 3 stars was because of the lack of a stronger story line.
The story line is not as strong as some of Dickens better known novels but his attention to the various characters details is typical of all his work.
The reason I only gave 3 stars was because of the lack of a stronger story line.
By Mrs. Little
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Who wouldn't be delighted to find the public domain list of FREE classic literature. This is fantastic. All the titles I've always wanted to read and for free - this is my kind of kindle heaven. I love the way they arrive on your kindle, they're so quick, it's like magic. Thank you public domain!
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Being a resident of Rugby I was keen to read this short story that is based upon the town. I was able to imagine how things were well over a hundred years ago. As ever Dickens describes things in a way that transports you back to by gone times and the age of steam.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Neglected Dickens
Although Mugby Junction is certainly not Dickens at his classic best, Dickens at less than his best is still invariably a very good read and Mugby Junction has much to savour,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Gidget
4.0 out of 5 stars
Charming tales
This is a collection of short stories of things that might have happened at a 19th Century railway junction. Nicely paced well structured, beautifully written little nothings.
Published 5 months ago by Mrs A
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very weak
This was chosen as a Book Club read - but there is a definite reason why it isn't one of Dickens' known works! Read more
Published 5 months ago by EMB
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Dickens off-day
Not Dickens at his best, just like some train journies it rambled on and went nowhere until I became bored.
Published 5 months ago by Bri
2.0 out of 5 stars
Thank goodness it is short!
The story is outlined in other reviews already.
Sadly it is not Dickens anywhere near his best. Read more
Sadly it is not Dickens anywhere near his best. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr. Martin Brown
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth it for the style
I wasn't aware of this book until a recent television programme briefly discussed it and read an excerpt. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Elginson
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