M. R. James

2011-01-19T13:52:40Z

Rufus691263:

'''Montague Rhodes James''', ([http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 1]], [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 12]], [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 A noted [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 scholar and Provost of [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 College, Cambridge]], he is best remembered today for his [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 stories]]. These were published in a series of collections: ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' (1904), ''More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' (1911), ''A Thin Ghost and Others'' (1919), ''A Warning to the Curious and other Ghost Stories'' (1925). Following an English tradition, many of the thirty or so tales were penned as Christmas Eve entertainments and read aloud to gatherings of friends.

The stories perfected several key elements of the classical ghost story. These include plot elements: a bucolic setting in a small village, rural community or venerable university; a nondescript and rather naive gentleman scholar as protagonist; and the discovery of an old book or other antiquarian object that somehow calls down the wrath, or at least unwelcome attention, of a supernatural menace, usually from beyond the grave. James also perfected the literary technique of the genre: narrating supernatural events principally through inference and suggestion and letting his reader fill in the blanks; and focusing on the quotidian details of his settings and characters in order to throw the horrific and bizarre elements into greater relief. [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 P. Lovecraft]] was a great enthusiast, extolling the stories as the peak of the ghost story form in his definitive essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature" (1925-27). Another relatively well-known fan of James in the horror and fantasy genre was [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 Ashton Smith]], who wrote an essay on him. Author [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 Bellairs]] paid homage to James by incorporating plot elements borrowed from James' ghost stories into several of his own juvenile mysteries.

There have been numerous [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 and [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 adaptations of James stories, mostly in Britain. Two of the best-known and most highly reputed of these TV dramas, "Whistle and I'll Come to You" (1968) and "A Warning to the Curious" (1972), are available on [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 from the [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 Film Institute]]. The [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 in a long-standing tradition, used to broadcast a reading of an M. R. James story each Christmas.

The only notable film version to date has been a British adaptation by [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 Tourneur]] of "Casting the Runes," under the rather more attention-catching title of ''Night of the Demon'' (1957; U.S. title: ''Curse of the Demon''). While somewhat more literal than the original story, which was loosely based on the foul reputation of [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 Crowley]], the film is generally considered one of the high points of the [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 film]]. Opinion is, however, divided on the merits of the rather un-Jamesian decision (allegedly against Tourneur's wishes) to explicitly show a special effects [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 with a bulb-fingered design inspired by medieval [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 M. R. James is best remembered for his ghost stories, his output of medieval scholarship
was phenomenal. He catalogued many of the manuscript libraries of the Cambridge and Oxford colleges. Among his other scholarly works, he wrote ''The Apocalypse in Art'', which placed [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 Apocalypse manuscripts]] into families. He also translated the New Testament Apocrypha.

The stories of M.R. James have influenced many of todays great supernatural writers, including [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 King]] (The Shining etc), [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 Campbell]] (Ancient Images) and [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 Neild]] (A Haunted Man).

==External links==
*[http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 A complete chronological bibliography of all of his writings] hosted by the [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 of Pennsylvania]] [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 of Arts and Sciences]]
*{{imdb title|id=|title=Night of the Demon}}
*[http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 Ghosts & Scholars] - exhaustive online magazine devoted to James and related literature and writers
*{{gutenberg author|id=Montague_Rhodes_James|name=M. R. James}}

[http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 M. R.]]
[http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 M. R.]]

Original Wiki source: [http://worldselectshop.com/?id=9361 Wikipedia]

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M. R. James