Medieval Studies and the Ghost Stories of M. R. James

by Patrick J. Murphy

Montague Rhodes James authored some of the most highly regarded ghost stories of all time―classics such as “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” that have been adapted many times over for radio and television and have never gone out of print. But while James is best known as a fiction writer and storyteller, he was also a provost of King’s College, Cambridge, and Eton College, and a legendary and influential scholar whose pioneering work in the study of biblical texts and medieval manuscripts, art, and architecture is still relevant today. In Medieval Studies and the Ghost Stories of M. R. James , Patrick J. Murphy argues that these twin careers are inextricably linked. James’s research not only informed his fiction but also reflected his anxieties about the nature of academic life and explored the delicate divide between professional, university men and erratic hobbyists or antiquaries. Murphy shows how detailed attention to the scholarly inspirations behind James’s fiction provides considerable insight into a formative moment in medieval studies, as well as into James’s methods as a master stylist of understated horror. During his life, James often claimed that his stories were mere entertainments―pleasing distractions from a life largely defined by academic discipline and restraint―and readers over the years have been content to take him at his word. This intriguing volume, however, convincingly proves otherwise.

264 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2018

Reviews

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book showed me I don't like reading a dry analysis of one of my favorite ghost story writers.

[Curtis Runstedler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating study concerning the interconnectedness of M.R. James' scholarly work and ghost stories, and just erupting with all kinds of interesting ideas and readings that I've never considered before. Some of the interpretations are a bit of a stretch (i.e. the Beowulf and Dream of the Rood bits, but hey, isn't Nightmare of the Rood an amazing subtitle??), but it's all compelling stuff (although I was personally hoping that my favourite "Lost Hearts" would make the cut - har har). Great for M.R. James fans and scholars alike, and excellently researched too.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-argued, scholarly analysis of the relationship between M. R. James' academic career and his celebrated supernatural fiction. Some biographers and other commentators have tended to put the two activities in separate compartments, and treated the ghost stories as a kind of aberration. This book makes clear how James' academic and antiquarian interests flowed most directly into his ghost stories. This was not just a question of style and atmosphere but also of content. The book considers some of the key stories and connects them to the work that James was doing and the broader context of his career at Cambridge and Eton.

This is an academic study and with extensive quotations from other languages including Anglo-Saxon does not always make fluent reading. But it is worth taking the time to consider the arguments and, as a long-time admirer of M. R. James, I found this book most persuasive.

[Bob Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book that creates an intriguing perspective on Jame’s life.