Chrysal: Or, the Adventures of a Guinea

by M.R. James, Adept

Wherein are exhibited Views of Several Striking Scenes, with Curious and Interesting Anecdotes of the most Noted Persons in every Rank of Life, whose Hands it passed through, in America, England, Holland, Germany, and Portugal. By an Adept. A New Edition. 4 volumes complete.

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1760

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

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The auspicious moment is arrived; nature labors in the throes of the mystic birth; and lo! the philosophic king arises in all the glory of the morning! attend to my words; receive the consummation of human knowledge.
To apprehend this secret cause you must know **********************
O doleful and deplorable event; never to be told without wailing; never to be read without tears. Just as the spirit had arrived at this most interesting point, human weakness, unable to suppress the impulse of internal vapor, . . . emitted an explosion that filled the room with a fetid steam."(451-452)