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Product Description
Product Description
The only annotated edition of M. R. James's writings currently available, Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories contains the entire first two volumes of James's ghost stories, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary and More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. These volumes are both the culmination of the nineteenth-century ghost story tradition and the inspiration for much of the best twentieth-century work in this genre. Included in this collection are such landmark tales as "Count Magnus," set in the wilds of Sweden; "Number 13," a distinctive tale about a haunted hotel room; "Casting the Runes," a richly complex tale of sorcery that served as the basis for the classic horror film Curse of the Demon; and "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad," one of the most frightening tales in literature. The appendix includes several rare texts, including "A Night in King's College Chapel," James's first known ghost story.
About the Author
Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) is one of the originators and most influential writers of supernatural fiction. Among his many honors was the Order of Merit, bestowed upon him by King George V in 1930.
S. T. Joshi is a freelance writer and editor. He has edited Penguin Classics editions of H. P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (1999), and The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories (2001), as well as Algernon Blackwood's Ancient Sorceries and Other Strange Stories (2002). Among his critical and biographical studies are The Weird Tale (1990), Lord Dunsany: Master of the Anglo-Irish Imagination (1995), H. P. Lovecraft: A Life (1996), and The Modern Weird Tale (2001). He has also edited works by Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Machen, and H. L. Mencken, and is compiling a three-volume Encyclopedia of Supernatural Literature. He lives with his wife in Seattle, Washington.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For anyone who can think of no better way to spend a dark winters' evening than to curl up by the fire and read a good ghost story, then this book is for you. M.R. James, perhaps the most famous of all English supernaturalists, delivers stories of such consistent quality and style that it is difficult to think of anyone, except perhaps Algernon Blackwood, that ever has or ever will match him. James' stories reflect an England that has long since faded into memory. He himself was a lifelong academic and a highlight of the Christmas term for his students would be an invite to his study where they would hear his latest tale of terror. These stories are beautifully crafted with an elegant prose that conjours up an age long since past. Despite being written over eighty years ago these stories have not lost their ability to send shivers down the spine and indeed on occasion, even shock. With James' work, it is often the unexpected that leaves a lingering shadow in the readers mind long after the book has been put down. Highlights and true classics of supernatural fiction, include his most famous tale 'Oh Whistle, and I'll Come To You My Lad' and other genre classics such as ' Lost Hearts,' 'The Mezzotint,' and 'The Ash Tree.' So imagine , if you will, it is night, you are sitting in an old leather arm chair alone in a dark room, you are drifting off to sleep. Your arm falls from your side and your hand brushes something that is crouching in the dark on the floor beside you. It is large, the size of a man, but it is covered in thick coarse hair and it has started to rise!
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I was intoduced, 50 years ago, to the delights of the ghost stories of M.R. James by my Latin master at school who usually read one of these superb stories at the end of term. These made such a deep impression on me that, to this day, ghost stories fall into 2 groups - those by M.R. James and the rest!
By far and away the best recordings of M.R. James' ghost stories were those recorded by the incomparable Michael Hordern on the Argo label, now sadly long deleted. His voice characterizations seem to hit exactly the right note.
Unfortunately Hordern did not record all the stories, so this CD is a very welcome addition to my audio library, as it contains two that Hordern didn't do - A View from a Hill & The Story of a Disappearance & an Appearance. Derek Jacobi's characterizations are of a wider range than Hordern's, but the general narrative style doesn't quite do it for me in the same way that Hordern's does.
It has to be said that recordings of all James Stories are being released, narrated by David Collings (if, that is, the publisher ever get round to releasing the 2nd tranche - I've been waiting 10 months!!). However Collings' characterizations are, by a long way, the poorest of the three. He has a flat & monotonous intonation which I find tedious, so in terms of material available today, Jacobi's recording is to be greatly commended.
By far and away the best recordings of M.R. James' ghost stories were those recorded by the incomparable Michael Hordern on the Argo label, now sadly long deleted. His voice characterizations seem to hit exactly the right note.
Unfortunately Hordern did not record all the stories, so this CD is a very welcome addition to my audio library, as it contains two that Hordern didn't do - A View from a Hill & The Story of a Disappearance & an Appearance. Derek Jacobi's characterizations are of a wider range than Hordern's, but the general narrative style doesn't quite do it for me in the same way that Hordern's does.
It has to be said that recordings of all James Stories are being released, narrated by David Collings (if, that is, the publisher ever get round to releasing the 2nd tranche - I've been waiting 10 months!!). However Collings' characterizations are, by a long way, the poorest of the three. He has a flat & monotonous intonation which I find tedious, so in terms of material available today, Jacobi's recording is to be greatly commended.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
A must have for lovers of ghost stories in general and particularly those of M.R. James. Superbly read by the great Derek Jacobi who really makes the stories come alive. A real treat.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
You've lost that chilling-feeling
Every now and then my local talk radio station has nights when callers ring in with their "ghost stories". Read more
Published 1 month ago by Darren
Sir Derek brings M.R. to life!
I have always thought that the Ghost Stories of M.R. James were meant to be read aloud. To my mind no one has managed to capture his imagry on film or T.V. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Bigbadbob
The definitive edition - part one
The following review is for the Penguin paperback book "Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories: The Complete Ghost Stories of M.R. James (volume 1)", not the audiobook. Read more
Published 8 months ago by downkiddie
Made me afraid to go to bed
The only really scary ghost stories I have ever read. Each story begins with the usual calm of 19thC prose and gradually reality begins to fray at the edges and you end up being... Read more
Published 16 months ago by C. Carter
ghost stories audiobook
I really enjoyed listening to these stories. Had them on in the car and got quite into them. Good old fashioned ghost stories - reminds me of being a kid again!!
Published on 28 Mar 2010 by N McEvoy
The Master of the Ghost story
What can one say of the ghost stories of M.R. James ? It was the only type of story in which he was interested in writing. And he is the absolute master of this genre. Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2010 by Mr. Louis Des Preaux
Buy this one! It's the best edition of MR James's works available
The Wordsworth Classics edition of MR James's works is still the best one-volume edition available. I've dipped into my copy so many times I think I need a new one. Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2009 by Cardew Robinson
Rather repetitious, old fashioned and twee ghost stories
There isn't a lot of diversity in these early ghost stories. The characters are all male, middle class and usually academics (or antiquarians as they are termed here) like James... Read more
Published on 25 May 2009 by Brownbear101
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