M. R. James | |
|---|---|
 M. R. James, c. 1900 | |
| Born | Montague Rhodes James 1 August 1862 Goodnestone, Kent, England |
| Died | 12 June 1936 (aged 73) Eton, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Pen name | M. R. James |
| Occupation | Author, scholar |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge |
| Genre | |
Montague Rhodes James OM FBA (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English medievalist scholar and author who served as provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936) as well as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (1913–1915). James's scholarly work is still highly regarded,[1] but he is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are considered by many critics and authors as the finest in the English language and widely influential on modern horror.[2][3]
James originally read the stories to friends and select students at Eton and Cambridge as Christmas Eve entertainments, and received wider attention when they were published in the 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), and the hardback omnibus The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James (1931). James published a further three stories before his death in 1936, and seven previously unpublished or unfinished stories appeared in The Fenstanton Witch and Others: M. R. James in Ghosts and Scholars (1999), all of which have been included in later collections.
James redefined the ghost story for the new century by abandoning many of the formal Gothic clichés of his predecessors, and is noted for his use of realism and dry humour to ground the stories and contrast with the supernatural elements. He is known as the originator of the "antiquarian ghost story" and "the Father of Folk Horror" for the way his plots and characters drew on his own scholarly interests in ancient folklore and the rural landscapes of East Anglia.[4][5] This association has continued into the 21st century due to the many adaptations of his stories, which have made him, according to critic Jon Dear, "the go-to folk horror writer".[6]
- ^ Barker, Nicolas (1970). "After M. R. James". The Book Collector. 19 (1): 7–20.
- ^ Morton-Haworth, James (director) (18 December 2005). The Story of the Ghost Story (Television production). BBC. Event occurs at 19.50.
The strength of M. R. James' writing has come to be the benchmark by which all modern ghost stories are judged
- ^ Scovell, Adam (15 December 2020). "The Restless Ghost Stories of M. R. James". Literary Hub. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
His first collection, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, was published to great acclaim by Edward Arnold in 1904, followed by several equally celebrated volumes establishing him as the foremost writer of the genre, still arguably unsurpassed.
- ^ Briggs, Julia (1986). "James, M(ontague) R(hodes)". In Sullivan, Jack, ed., The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 0-670-80902-0
- ^ Cooray Smith, James (22 December 2016). "The fear of other people: these Folk Horror ghost stories are perfect for Brexit Christmas". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ Dear, Jon (5 December 2022) [Whistle and I'll Come to You, first broadcast May 7, 1968]. Ghost Stories for Christmas: Volume 1: Disc 1: Commentary for Whistle and I'll Come to You (DVD). BFI.
M. R. James has become the go-to folk horror writer for telly because of the Ghost Stories for Christmas.