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by M.R. James

Thirty-four masterful strange tales by the grand master of the nature of fear
There has been much written about Montague Rhodes James that needs no repetition here. To those who know anything of the literature of the supernatural his name and work stands on the highest tier in the Pantheon of the greatest writers of the genre. James brought his horrors to his readers genteelly wrapped in the fine prose of an academic often describing the apparently logical lives and worlds of fictional nondescript academics and antiquarians. Brilliantly, his menaces creep into the safe lives of unsuspecting, undynamic personalities-into the very fabric of the ordinary in notably commonplace scenarios. In this lies the James genius, for he understood well that it is the subtle menace of approaching horror that builds the most terror and that what we all fear most, born out of our primeval fear of darkness, is the unknown and the unfathomable. James' ghosts rarely come shrieking out of a closet. They hint at their presence, they unsettle and then they approach with dreadful inexorability. Among those who know the genre of supernatural fiction well many regard M. R. James as its finest exponent. For those who are yet to experience his delicious chills this volume will be a revelation and an abiding pleasure.
This special Leonaur edition of all the M. R. James supernatural and weird fiction completed and published in his lifetime contains the enduringly popular 'Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book, ' 'Lost Hearts' and 'The Ash-Tree' as well as less familiar gems such as 'The Tractate Middoth' and 'Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance.' In all, a feast of thirty-four small masterpieces including James' strange novella for younger readers 'The Five Jars.' Leonaur editions are available in softcover and hardcover with dustjacket-ideal for collectors or as a special gift to be forever treasured. Leonaur hardbacks are bound in full cloth and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

Genres: Horror

502 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 1997

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

[La Stamberga dei Lettori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Premettiamo che il giudizio di chi scrive è parzialmente drogato dal fatto che questo ricchissimo campionario dell'orrore dal sapore goticheggiante è la sommatoria di materiale erudito - l'autore è un medievista di altissimo livello - e di un'ispirazione orrorifica, un connubio raro e perciò ancora più apprezzabile.
Si tratta di una raccolta completa di diverse raccolte di racconti a tema 'paura', tutti firmati da M.R. James tra il 1904 e il 1925: i 'Racconti di fantasmi di un antiquario', gli 'Altri racconti di fantasmi di un antiquario', 'Uno spettro scarno e altre storie', l' 'Avvertimento ai curiosi', gli 'Ultimi racconti' e come chicca finale un'appendice dell'autore, le 'Storie che ho tentato di scrivere'.
Già dalla prefazione dell'autore emerge la radice 'antiquaria' dell'ispirazione. A forza di sfogliare manoscritti medievali e vetusti libroni nelle sale di biblioteche solennemente silenziose e arcigne non stupisce che le fantasie di James prendessero, anche in coda alle mode letterarie del XIX secolo, un'inclinazione alquanto lugubre.

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