∎ [PDF] Ghost Stories MR James 9780140621037 Books

Ghost Stories MR James 9780140621037 Books

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Ghost Stories MR James 9780140621037 Books

As, I wd think, most Amazon customers who are reading this review are ALREADY fans of M. R. James, I think that it's safe to refrain from providing biographical info about the master ghost story writer. But, just in case ...

Englishman Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936), a lifelong bachelor, was, in turn, a Fellow, Dean, Tutor, and Provost at Cambridge University. The ghost stories contained in this volume - like his others - were published in book form in the early part of the 20th century and the accomplished biblical scholar, medievalist, and linguist is generally considered to rank among the very best in this genre. And, to put it very simply, what characterizes James' ghost stories are: 1) eyewitnesses who are almost always unblameworthy for what befalls them; 2) an unfortunately too frequent use of "stock" characters (incl servants - he did write about England before and during his lifetime, after all); 3) interesting and, oftentimes, "classically spooky" settings (esp to romantic, 21st century, non-Brit readers); 4) a great eye for detail and ear for dialogue; 5) a skilful touch at pacing and creating "atmosphere" and horror; 6) ghosts that are evident to the senses (as opposed to possibly being imagined); & 7) the intentional absence of "all the details" as to what has occurred (esp in the climax) so as to maintain an air of mystery to his tales.

As for this item, the Penguin Popular Classics edition of GHOST STORIES ...

PROS:

- 30 of James' stories are included
Canon Alberic's Scrap-book
Lost Hearts
The Mezzotint
The Ash-Tree
Number 13
Count Magnus
'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
A School Story
The Rose Garden
The Tractate Middoth
Casting the Runes
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
Martin's Close
Mr Humphreys and his Inheritance
The Residence at Whitminister
The Diary of Mr Poynter
An Episode of Cathedral History
The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance
Two Doctors
The Haunted Doll's House
The Uncommon Prayer-Book
A Neighbour's Landmark
A View From a Hill
A Warning to the Curious
A Evening's Entertainment
There was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard
Rats
After Dark in the Playing Fields
Wailing Well

plus the essay, "Stories I have Tried to Write"

- a biography that runs just over a page

- James' preface to his COLLECTED GHOST STORIES (1931), which was comprised of the same stories in this Penguin edition

CONS

- annoyingly tiny typeset (almost as bad as a 19th century newspaper's)

- the lack of annotation (a "must" for 21st century readers)

RATINGS:

- stories: five stars
- this Penguin edition: three stars

BTW, Collected Ghost Stories (Wordsworth Mystery & Supernatural) (Wordsworth Classics) contains the same shorts as this one, but is a 5" x 8" book with much larger type.


Tags : Ghost Stories [M.R. James] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This title is part of an inexpensive range of classics in the Penguin Popular Classics series. It contains a collection of ghost stories.,M.R. James,Ghost Stories,Penguin Books Ltd,0140621032,Classic fiction,Horror & ghost stories,Short stories

Ghost Stories MR James 9780140621037 Books Reviews

Here is a thoroughly civilised piece of Hallowe'en entertainment. One of England's finest actors regales us with four of the famous ghost stories of England's finest ghost story writer. The two discs comprise A Warning to the Curious, The Mezzotint, The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral and A Neighbour's Landmark. The available choice of audiobooks containing the M R James stories has surprised me by its variety, but I have not troubled to find out which others, if any, consist of exactly these four tales. Anyone wanting these four and wishing to hear them read as they ought to be read really need look no further.

James is always slightly tongue-in-cheek, delicately parodying the idiom of his own upper-bracket social class around the turn of the 20th century. Derek Jacobi captures this nuance to something like perfection without overdoing it. As the main narrator he stays himself, a product of the acting schools of the later 20th century. A beautiful middle-aged voice is all that is really needed from the reader James does the rest. You will experience without distractions the special atmosphere and tingle-factor that make James unique, and I found that I admired the actual selection of the four stories, which offer a nice variety in the author's methods. Indeed A Neighbour's Landmark is rather unlike most of James's plots, and I wondered whether it was based on a real historical court case. It has more sense of reportage and less of fantasy than usual, and I'm sure the feeling of reality that it had for me has nothing to do with the fact that the name Reggie Phillipson is one from my own early schooldays.

Otherwise you will find James's usual recipe of pagan demons present in the heart of high Anglican worship, comfortable Cambridge dons and cathedral clergy confronted with what they do not understand, and the unique and special ambience of East Anglia with its flat landscapes and invasive mists. It is all done with a unique delicacy and restraint that makes me, and I'm sure many, shiver far more than strenuous attempts to scare me ever do. The tingle-factor is largely eerie, as of course it ought to be, but the sheer artistry of it has a lot to do with the matter as well.
As, I wd think, most customers who are reading this review are ALREADY fans of M. R. James, I think that it's safe to refrain from providing biographical info about the master ghost story writer. But, just in case ...

Englishman Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936), a lifelong bachelor, was, in turn, a Fellow, Dean, Tutor, and Provost at Cambridge University. The ghost stories contained in this volume - like his others - were published in book form in the early part of the 20th century and the accomplished biblical scholar, medievalist, and linguist is generally considered to rank among the very best in this genre. And, to put it very simply, what characterizes James' ghost stories are 1) eyewitnesses who are almost always unblameworthy for what befalls them; 2) an unfortunately too frequent use of "stock" characters (incl servants - he did write about England before and during his lifetime, after all); 3) interesting and, oftentimes, "classically spooky" settings (esp to romantic, 21st century, non-Brit readers); 4) a great eye for detail and ear for dialogue; 5) a skilful touch at pacing and creating "atmosphere" and horror; 6) ghosts that are evident to the senses (as opposed to possibly being imagined); & 7) the intentional absence of "all the details" as to what has occurred (esp in the climax) so as to maintain an air of mystery to his tales.

As for this item, the Penguin Popular Classics edition of GHOST STORIES ...

PROS

- 30 of James' stories are included
Canon Alberic's Scrap-book
Lost Hearts
The Mezzotint
The Ash-Tree
Number 13
Count Magnus
'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
A School Story
The Rose Garden
The Tractate Middoth
Casting the Runes
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
Martin's Close
Mr Humphreys and his Inheritance
The Residence at Whitminister
The Diary of Mr Poynter
An Episode of Cathedral History
The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance
Two Doctors
The Haunted Doll's House
The Uncommon Prayer-Book
A Neighbour's Landmark
A View From a Hill
A Warning to the Curious
A Evening's Entertainment
There was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard
Rats
After Dark in the Playing Fields
Wailing Well

plus the essay, "Stories I have Tried to Write"

- a biography that runs just over a page

- James' preface to his COLLECTED GHOST STORIES (1931), which was comprised of the same stories in this Penguin edition

CONS

- annoyingly tiny typeset (almost as bad as a 19th century newspaper's)

- the lack of annotation (a "must" for 21st century readers)

RATINGS

- stories five stars
- this Penguin edition three stars

BTW, Collected Ghost Stories (Wordsworth Mystery & Supernatural) (Wordsworth Classics) contains the same shorts as this one, but is a 5" x 8" book with much larger type.