[2PO]⇒ Descargar Free Collected Ghost Stories Wordsworth Classics Wordsworth Hardback Library MR James 9781853268397 Books

Collected Ghost Stories Wordsworth Classics Wordsworth Hardback Library MR James 9781853268397 Books

Download As PDF : Collected Ghost Stories Wordsworth Classics Wordsworth Hardback Library MR James 9781853268397 Books

Collected Ghost Stories Wordsworth Classics Wordsworth Hardback Library MR James 9781853268397 Books

M.R. James' ghost stories are superb, but I took away one star because of this edition. Sure, it has a fine cover, but egads! - the pages are cheap and feel cheap, just a notch above newspaper print, or comic book pulp. Why make a cover that fine and use newsprint paper inside? Oxford World Classics, you most certainly aren't classics in production!


Tags : Collected Ghost Stories (Wordsworth Classics) (Wordsworth Hardback Library) [M.R. James] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The tail piece Stories I have tried to write accompanies 30 classic tales of their genre set against convincing backgrounds to afflict chilling terror on the reader.,M.R. James,Collected Ghost Stories (Wordsworth Classics) (Wordsworth Hardback Library),Wordsworth Editions Ltd,1853268399,902241645,Horror & ghost stories,Short stories

Collected Ghost Stories Wordsworth Classics Wordsworth Hardback Library MR James 9781853268397 Books Reviews

These excellent ghost stories by MR James are all of them classics of the genre. However, they are what I would term "sleepers." There is very little melodrama here, and I believe their lineage can be traced back to the earlier waves of gothic horror, when the point of the ghost story was to frighten, and not to enlighten. James does not participate in the arcane mysticism that a lot of his contemporaries brought to the ghost story (i.e., Arthur Machen, Richard Marsh, Vernon Lee, etc.). His stories all focus on providing quiet, cumulative shivers. I believe this is what makes most of these stories suitable as family entertainment.

Without exception, these stories use quiet, bucolic settings like an university library, a parish church, churchyards, or country cottages and inns. These represent the world that MR James knew. Because of the apparent sameness of setting from story to story, these stories are best taken two or three at a time. I don't think this collection is to be read through in one or two sittings. You might just get too bored reading it that way. It took me nearly a year to read this book because I took it piece by piece.

I suggest that if you are more used to gory and shocking horror fiction, this book may not be for you. It really represents an older aesthetic with regard to horror that does not romanticize nor glamorize the supernatural. MR James himself stated that in his stories, the supernatural element is always inimical to mankind. His vampires do not try to romance pretty young women. His ghosts do not try to help the living. Just the reverse. They might just murder the unwary traveler or trespasser.
M.R. James is singularly responsible for my lifelong interest in ghost stories, and he is a true master of the genre. His antiquarian tastes are reflected in many of his ghost stories with the result that these stories are imbued with a high sense of atmosphere and creepiness.

I had worn out my old copy of his collected stories so I decided to splurge and got this handsome 2011 OUP edition. It is a sturdy hardcover edition with a beautiful grey ribbon marker. The cover is suitably Gothic with an angel statue portrayed glaring downwards. This edition features all of James' published ghost stories, as well as an appendix of James' writings on the ghost story. This edition has been edited with an introduction and notes by Darryl Jones and also contains a select bibliography as well as a chronology of M.R. James. There are also some explanatory notes on each of the stories at the end of the book. The select bibliography may not be extensive but has several gems, including The Lore of the Land A Guide to England's Legends, from Spring-Heeled Jack to the Witches of Warboys which I promptly purchased for my reading pleasure.

In his Introduction, Darryl Jones wisely advises, "Readers who are unfamiliar with the stories may prefer to treat the Introduction as an Afterword." Indeed, loyal fans of M.R. James will be acquainted with some of the matters brought up in the Introduction, such as James' famed ghost story readings at Christmastime in Cambridge, the basis for TV productions such as BBC's Ghost Stories for Christmas (available at 's UK website) and Ghost Stories from the BBC Lost Hearts / The Treasure of Abbot Thomas / The Ash Tree (Brand New & Sealed DVD). Even the issue of M.R. James' sexuality is briefly touched upon here. The Introduction is predictably brief, and a deeper insight into James' life and influences can perhaps be found in M.R.James An Informal Portrait.

This volume collects all of MR James' ghost stories except for "A Night In King's College Chapel", and "The Fenstanton Witch", as well as Monty's unfinished ghost stories all of which are found in one complete volume, in A PLEASING TERROR The Complete Supernatural Writings. To conclude, this Collected Ghost Stories of M.R. James is a handsome edition which is bound to please loyal fans and readers new to this master of the supernatural tale.
M.R. James represents, for me, the nexus of two of my interests the literature of England-Between-the-Wars, and ghost/horror fiction. I have read most of James's stories many times, and my enjoyment of them has actually increased with each re-reading. I read with interest of the publication of this book, but wondered if I really needed to buy it, since I already had all of James's stories -- or so I thought! I was delighted to discover that this collection actually contains several stories which I had never seen before! That fact alone made the book well worth my having. In addition, there is superior annotation which clarifies many points concerning the stories I knew. And, on top of all that, this edition is very nicely printed and bound! A real treasure for a number of reasons!
M.R. James' ghost stories are superb, but I took away one star because of this edition. Sure, it has a fine cover, but egads! - the pages are cheap and feel cheap, just a notch above newspaper print, or comic book pulp. Why make a cover that fine and use newsprint paper inside? Oxford World Classics, you most certainly aren't classics in production!