The Book of Ghost Stories

by M.R. James, Peter Haining (editor)

First edition thus. A collected and edited version of these classic bibliophilic ghost stories. Jacket rubbed. 128 pages. cloth-backed boards, dust jacket.. small 4to..

Genres: Horror

232 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1985

About the author

Montague Rhodes James, who used the publication name M.R. James, was a noted English mediaeval scholar & provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–18) & of Eton College (1918–36). He's best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. One of James' most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal Gothic trappings of his predecessors, replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

M.R.^James

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.52⭐

This book is a memorial volume in tribute to the works of M. R. James edited by Peter Haining.

Foreword • essay • John Betjeman ✔
The Haunted World of M. R. James • (1979) • essay • Peter Haining 5⭐
Some Remarks on Ghost Stories • (1929) • essay • M. R. James 4⭐
M. R. James as Sherlock Holmes • (1979) • essay • uncredited ✔
Twelve Medieval Ghost Stories • (1922) • (collected by M. R. James) 3⭐
The Vampire of Kring • (1979) • essay by uncredited 5⭐
The Novels and Stories of J. Sheridan Le Fanu • (1979) • essay • M. R. James 3⭐
The Little Red Man • (1870) • short fiction • Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu 3⭐
The White and the Black • (1867) • novelette • Erckmann-Chatrian 3⭐
The Story of the Bulbul • (1917) • short story (taken from a collection called Indian Fairy Tales • Maive Stokes) 3.5⭐
My Dream of a Murderer's Ghost (excerpt) • (1979) • short fiction • M. R. James 3.5⭐
"A Warning to the Curious ..." (excerpt) • (1925) • short fiction • Charles R. Beard 3⭐
The Experiment • (1931) • short story • M. R. James 3⭐
A View from a Hill • M. R. James ✔
The Mystery of a Satanist Picture • (1979) • essay • uncredited 3⭐
The Satanist Picture • (1932) • essay • M. R. James 3.25⭐
A Vignette • (1936) • short story • M. R. James 4⭐
A Tribute to M. R. J. • (1979) • essay • Christopher Lee 3.5⭐

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much an anthology of ghost stores written by M.R. James as it is a collection of essays about M.R. James and his relationship with ghost stories. Still useful for all of the references it makes to other books.