The next collection from 1922 is often nowadays combined with this volume. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. It was his second short story collection. In fact, I appreciated the fact that these tales weren't gory at all. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published JAMES, M. R. Ghost-Stories of an Antiquary. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. This is also the case with the murder mystery genre. The first hardback collected edition appeared in 1931. The book's page count is misleading, it's entered as 94 on GR and 122 on Amazon and yet by my account considering the time spent reading it and the fact that it comprises parts 1 & 2 of James' stories, also published as separate volumes, this should clock out at well over 200 pages. Download M R James's Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary for your kindle, tablet, IPAD, PC or mobile He's best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. Classic set of superb ghost stories. GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY, contains some of the earlier tales of author M.R. He has a way of setting the scene so that you think the places are real places and the people are real people, so the tension also feels real. M. R. JAMES (1862 - 1936) Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) was a medieval scholar; Provost of King’s College, Cambridge. My (positive) review of this book has to begin with two admissions. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Widely beloved, widely lauded these are suppose to be among the finest tales of supernatural fiction and yet they didn't do it for me at all. He seems to be a man of few words and because of that, we could've gotten along so well!! Eight classics by a great Edwardian scholar and storyteller. The modern world, without ghosts, is fashioned after the Death Star of "Star Wars", a world with no echoes and with no history. Paradigmatic ghost stories I can highly recommend. So, right off the bat, the reader is sunk into a well of mysterious words and cryptic clues pointing to a dark present connected to a deep and foggy past. As Leonardo is to painting, so M R James is to the short ghost story. Filled with anguish and longing together, we will that the dead walk again, that not all graves are silent. Besides, I was having trouble understanding the Biblical connections and citations and each time had to go look at the notes at the back of the volume I read the stories from. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2019. These ghosts stories are all history, all soul and the spirits who haunt the pages of these tales are the spirits of the past, our past, come to haunt us, whispering, "come back, come back, it is dark and old and cosy here". Charcateristic of the genre is an inciteement to fear of the inheritance of the past and fear of a possible spirit world living close to us but seldom seen or apprehended. "Number Thirteen," "The Mezzotint," "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook," and more. I first read a Penguin paperback of collected stories when I was young and wasn’t impressed. He really is that good. Get ready for the shivers when you read these creepers. These are tales to be told of a Christmas eve around the first in the UK, and for that, they're probably perfect. James, M. R. (Montague Rhodes), 1862-1936: Title: Ghost Stories of an Antiquary Part 2: More Ghost Stories Contents: 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. “Ghost Stories of an Antiquary” was written as two collections, presented here as two volumes in a single work. Most reveiewers here feel that MR James is a master of the genre and I agree. These are like the stories told around the campfire or sitting in the dark during a slumber party (remember the hook hand and lover's lane? Sure, but that wasn't the main detraction. Start by marking “Ghost Stories of an Antiquary” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. James. James has inspired and unsettled countless writers and readers since his tales first came into print, and his popularity and influence remain u. Montague Rhodes James (1862 ~ 1936) is the father of the English ghost story. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Refresh and try again. MR James was an antiquarian (studied, translated and catalogued old books, particularly religious texts), so he knew all about dusty books, religious tomes, in particular, and old places with plenty of history and mystery, and that's evident in his stories. ", Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories (The Complete Ghost Stories of M. R. James, Vol. I like the fact that each has a nice build of tension and a dramatic conclusion. From a mysterious figure in a print, to the content of an ashtree, a mysterious room in a hotel up to Count Magnus and a whistle with a very strange quality. If you have a faible for antiquaries and like a carefully plotted story with a certain amount of horror at the middle you're absolutely right here. Evil remains courteous and confined and generally a stranger to us. If you can trudge through the old-world language and be patient to wait for the spooks to walk again, you'll be blown away by who was probably the best ghost-story author ever. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. He wrote many of his ghost stories to be read aloud in the … In book form...disappointing. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! “Few people can resist the temptation to try a little amateur research in a department quite outside their own, if only for the satisfaction of showing how successful they would have been had they only taken it up seriously.”, “At first you saw only a mass of coarse, matted black hair; presently it was seen that this covered a body of fearful thinness, almost a skeleton, but with the muscles standing out like wires. £1,500.00. I am not, generally speaking, a fan of much horror and I felt that these stories may fall into that space. James, was a noted British mediaeval scholar & provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–18) & of Eton College (1918–36). It was just good fiction. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2014. Our modern world is a networked vulgarity, an over-exposure, a world with its share of horror but devoid of ghosts. :D. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. I was quite honestly surprised by just how much I enjoyed these stories. This particular selection is available for free download on public domain. Fabulous free download. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. There's something to be said for horror that's still creepy after a century passes, and M.R. Buy Ghost Stories of an Antiquary New edition by James, M. R. (ISBN: 0800759227587) from Amazon's Book Store. which is also free. There are certain expectations of a ghost story writer and for many readers these expectations are fulfilled. M.R. This was M.R.James' first colection of short stories and it's a great starter for his works. My main complaint with all of the stories contained herein is that they end too abruptly. That's the real tradition and it's how to get the best from these stories. James hides his rocks under cushions. There was a problem loading your book clubs. With the publisher's adverts dated November 1904. James, was a noted British mediaeval scholar & provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–18) & of Eton College (1918–36). James provides it by the bucketload in this collection. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. The language is very of it's time, but it provides a subtle distance to the whole thing that amplifies it's creepiness; the scares themselves usually bu. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is very good indeed with small patches of wear to the spine and some darkening. I'm probably the only one here who wasn't too impressed by M.R. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, Vol. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary [James, M. R.] on Amazon.com. Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2015. Either way this really didn't work for me, neither entertained as a book should nor spooked as a genre book ought to. Do ghost stories not deal with tales of fear, depression, murder and unrest? Click here to read the rest of the review... Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books), October 2016: Ghost Stories of An Antiquary by MR James, Readers' Most Anticipated Books of February. Something went wrong. Were they dated? Enjoyable reading that isn't going to give me nightmares :), Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2016. With re-reading in later life, I’ve come to appreciate the steady pace and I’ve come to see that the “slowness” I perceived at first, was made up of text that is full of tiny suggestions, hints and clues as to what is to come. I'll admit, I'm a bit biased when it comes to M.R. Please try again. While probably not interesting to many fans of modern horror stories, "Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" is an appealing example of late Victorian horror fiction. James' tales--I own his complete works, and have re-read it several times. A word of warning: Despite his suggestion in an essay that writers should employ reticence in their work, many of James' tales depict scenes and images of savage and often disturbing violence. "Number Thirteen," "The Mezzotint," "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook," more. Utterly lacking in gore and in-your-face horror, James' fiction relies on the delicate manipulation of the reader's imagination to create a subtle, uneasy sort of suspense. This is great collection of 7 classic ghost stories. Alas, this was the sort of classic that reminded me why it's precisely every so often and not more frequently than that. My first encounter with the ghost stories of genre master Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) was as a kid of about 11, reading, There's something to be said for horror that's still creepy after a century passes, and M.R. In both the murder mystery and the ghost story, the writer works on a titilation of fear or horror, but acknowledges a clear limit to the extent of the horror. Please try your request again later. GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY, contains some of the earlier tales of author M.R. Features "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,'" and "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. When he has you thoroughly involved and at your most somnambulant, it is only then that the inexplicable suddenly rears its head, usually byway of a few powerful images that change the dream to nightmare. Welcome back. Please try again. They do, but the negative or depressive aspect of any ghost story is likely to be counter-balanced, and that is certainly the case in these stories, by a nostalgic appeal. GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY, contains some of the earlier tales of author M.R. The stories are very English by the way. The author is extremely talented and crafts out a very enjoyable set of 8 stories (I liked them all). Language: English: LoC Class Besides, I was having trouble understanding the Biblical connections and citations and each time had to go look at the notes at the back of the volume I read the stories from. You are drawn into a settled and comfortable world of staid gentlemen and scholars, a cosy world of droll humour and secure predictability. Please try again. I think it was the slowness of the development, as I saw it at the time. Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2019. In several cases, this truncated feeling actually make the story LESS spooky. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Nothing shocked me, nothing managed to scare me at all. Chillingly atmospheric, quietly terrifying, M. R. James’s stories explore the darkness just beyond the flicker of the candle, behind the creaking door. Essential. These books are not intended to depress: quite the contrary. a bond with the past, our past. He's best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. What was one of the most memorable moments of Ghost Stories of … I tried and tried, took several sittings. Alas, this was the sort of classic that reminded me why it's precisely every so often and not more frequently than that. Renowned for their wit, erudition and suspense, these stories are each masterfully constructed and represent a high achievement in the ghost genre. Nothing truly scary within these pages. While not gruesome by any means, these classic tales of apparitions and other supernatural horrors remain chilling to this day. Imagine one of the awful bird-catching spiders of South America translated into human form, and endowed with intelligence just less than human, and you will have some faint conception of the terror inspired by the appalling effigy.”, A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories, the jibblies for fifteen minutes straight, Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories for Late at Night, Great Ghost Stories: 101 Terrifying Tales, Charles Keeping's Classic Tales of the Macabre. I never liked horror stories, because I'm a sissy and I get very, VERY scared. M. R. James was a master of his craft so his ghost stories have influenced many authors and filmmakers. *sighs* Never mind. James' tales--I own his complete works, and have re-read it several times. He wrote many of his ghost stories to be read aloud in the long tradition of spooky Christmas Eve tales. Some might not get the narration style, but many of these were invented for telling instead of reading. Montague Rhodes James, who used the publication name M.R. I found myself thinking of both Lovecraft (in James’ use of made-up manuscripts and a reliance on protagonists of a learned bent whose curiosity proves to be their bane) and Clark Ashton-Smith (though with prose that was a little less flowery) though I think James is a much better stylist than the former and a little less given to the more extreme flights of fancy of the latter. James' most important and well-known works are those collected in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary and its sequel, More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. James Ghost Stories of an Antiquary Read by David Timson & Stephen Critchlow unabridged. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary By M. R. James Eight classics by great Edwardian scholar and storyteller. M.R. The surface of the past was the heavy iron lid over nightmares but also over dreams of longing, the longing for a world, not perfect, not without the eternal combat of good and evil, but a world in which neither evil nor good was ever, ever conceivably vulgar. $12.22 Shipping & Import Fees Deposit to France. Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) was a medieval scholar; Provost of King's College, Cambridge. Charcateristic of the genre is an inciteement to fear of the inheritance of the past and fear of. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904) ... MONTAGUE RHODES JAMES Litt.D. The impatience of youth wants to get to “the meat” of the thing at once. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia More Ghost Stories is a horror short story collection by British writer M. R. James, published in 1911. I expected them to be dated. James's stories. James. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is a horror short story collection by British writer M. R. James, published in 1904 (some had previously appeared in magazines). But I do insist that he's an excellent storyteller, never resorting to flowery descriptions in order to build the atmosphere or to induce fear. Often the stories revolve around an ancient artifact able to invoke the otherworldly that is discovered by these particularly luckless individuals (though they often feel themselves l. This volume contains eight tasty little nuggets of supernatural horror that I found very satisfying. Montague Rhodes James still remains one of the best writers of ghost stories to have ever lived, and his tales are set in more modern settings than was really the norm for the period, however as he was an antiquarian such interests do come to the fore in many of his stories. My only complaint is that many of these stories are very similar. I'd read some of these before and most are excellent. The hands were of a dusky pallor, covered, like the body, with long, coarse hairs, and hideously taloned. Widely beloved, widely lauded these are suppose to be among the finest tales of supernatural fiction and yet they didn't do it for me at all. As in the case of Lovecraft, the stories tend to be disarmingly similar, which is at once a weakness in terms of the religious or philosophical horizon, but has all the strength of a discipline imposed and accepted. Classic set of superb ghost stories. I do have three favorites: Lost Hearts, The Ash-Tree, and Number 13. For classic ghost stories, these were not too bad, but a few of the stories I didn't know what was happening. That being said, they're perfectly readable and enjoyable if you're in a fireplace/campfire mood. The powerful sense of evil – darkness, creepy hairy presences, cloaks, hoods, talons and tentacles – pervades these classic ghost stories by M.R. And feels much slower than that. Chillingly atmospheric, quietly terrifying, M. R. James’s stories explore the darkness just beyond the flicker of the candle, behind the creaking door. By that stage, of course, your own imagination supplies far more graphic impact than a thousand words of description could. We expect, or at least many of us expect, our ghost stories to be located in an old mansion or church, to be deeply rooted in events which have taken place long ago in surroundings themselves so ancient that they were silent witnesses to those past events. Often the stories revolve around an ancient artifact able to invoke the otherworldly that is discovered by these particularly luckless individuals (though they often feel themselves lucky indeed when they first make their discoveries). Montague Rhodes James, who used the publication name M.R. Today all glitters and is surface only, we fear the lving not the dead and not living people so much as their creations and their demands. Imagine putting the book down and seeing a shape close by, not too dissimilar to the one you'd just read about... Did and entity from the mind of M. R. James find its way into this world..? His short stories are, quite simply, the finest traditional supernatural tales ever penned by mortal man. M. R. James is regarded by many as the Master of the British Ghost Story. JAMES, M. R. Ghost-Stories of an Antiquary. The Project Gutenberg eBook of Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, by M. R. James This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. To see what your friends thought of this book, This volume contains eight tasty little nuggets of supernatural horror that I found very satisfying. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by JAMES, M. R. LibriVox. He seems to be a man of few words and becau. For the same reasons that tourists travel in masses to see the architecture of the past and not of today-reasons aethetic for sure but also spiritual, so people hanker after tales which remind them of a world where the past still breathed and where the dead still walked. Out of the 7, the story Number 13 is my favorite. 1), Collected Ghost Stories: (OWC Hardback) (Oxford World's Classics Hardback Collection), Collected Ghost Stories (Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural), Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics), The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories, Blood on the Tracks: Railway Mysteries (British Library Crime Classics), Surfeit of Suspects (British Library Crime Classics), Cover Her Face (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries, No. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. We expect our vampires to be elaborately and aristocratically dressed. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. M R James – Ghost Stories of an Antiquary – First UK Edition – 1904 – Arnold A first edition, first printing published by Edward Arnold between 1904. Some later editions under the title Ghost Stories of an Antiquary contain it and the earlier Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in one volume. But I do insist that he's an excellent storyteller, never resorting to flowery descriptions in order to build the atmosphere or to induce fear. And the thing is objectively I can tell these are suppose to be good stories, quality writing, atmospheric, imaginative...and yet at no point did I find myself engaged or even particularly interested. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. I first read MR James several years ago, and he still remains my favorite ghost story writer. His stories often use rural settings, with a quiet, scholarly protagonist getting caught up in the activities of supernatural forces. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. I need friends like that. Part of my attachment must be put down to nostalgia - growing up, the only horror I could usually get my hands on was the kind that came in huge anthologies and tended to the classical (read: old!). Case with the murder mystery genre your own imagination supplies far more graphic than. Remain undiminished tales were n't gory at all works, and so I tried and not more frequently than.! Own his complete works, and he still remains my favorite of the genre it becomes an enriching experience ghost! Today in a graveyard are the mood for a few of his best stories in it and for readers. Craft so his ghost stories have influenced many authors and filmmakers send you a link to the... 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