Two Doctors

by M.R. James

Montague Rhodes James OM, MA, FBA (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936), who used the publication name M. R. James, was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre. James redefined the ghost story for the new century by abandoning many of the formal Gothic clichés of his predecessors and using more realistic contemporary settings. However, James's protagonists and plots tend to reflect his own antiquarian interests. Accordingly, he is known as the originator of the "antiquarian ghost story". James was born in Goodnestone Parsonage, near Dover in Kent, England, although his parents had associations with Aldeburgh in Suffolk. From the age of three (1865) until 1909 his home, if not always his residence, was at the Rectory in Great Livermere, Suffolk. This had also been the childhood home of another eminent Suffolk antiquary, "Honest Tom" Martin (1696–1771) "of Palgrave." Several of his ghost stories are set in Suffolk, including "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" (Felixstowe), "A Warning to the Curious" (Aldeburgh), "Rats" and "A Vignette" (Great Livermere). He lived for many years, first as an undergraduate, then as a don and provost, at King's College, Cambridge, where he was also a member of the Pitt Club. The university provides settings for several of his tales. Apart from medieval subjects, James studied the classics and appeared very successfully in a staging of Aristophanes' play The Birds, with music by Hubert Parry. His ability as an actor was also apparent when he read his new ghost stories to friends at Christmas time. In September 1873 he arrived as a boarder at Temple Grove School, one of the leading boys' preparatory schools of the day. James is best known for his ghost stories, but his work as a medievalist scholar was prodigious and remains highly respected in scholarly circles. Indeed, the success of his stories was founded on his antiquarian talents and knowledge. His discovery of a manuscript fragment led to excavations in the ruins of the abbey at Bury St Edmunds, West Suffolk, in 1902, in which the graves of several twelfth-century abbots described by Jocelyn de Brakelond (a contemporary chronicler) were rediscovered, having been lost since the Dissolution. His 1917 edition of the Latin Lives of Saint Aethelberht, king and martyr (English Historical Review 32), remains authoritative. He catalogued many of the manuscript libraries of the Cambridge colleges. Among his other scholarly works, he wrote The Apocalypse in Art, which placed illuminated Apocalypse manuscripts into families. He also translated the New Testament Apocrypha and contributed to the Encyclopaedia Biblica (1903). His ability to wear his learning lightly is apparent in his Suffolk and Norfolk (Dent, 1930), in which a great deal of knowledge is presented in a popular and accessible form, and in Abbeys (Great Western Railway, 1925). James also achieved a great deal during his directorship of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (1893–1908). He managed to secure a large number of important paintings and manuscripts, including notable portraits by Titian. James was Provost of Eton College from 1918 to 1936. He died in 1936 and was buried in Eton town cemetery.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Fiction

ebook

First published January 1, 1919

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

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1995, when Ghosts and Scholars, the M.R. James news letter, asked its readers to pick their least favorite M.R. James story, a clear majority of the respondents chose “Two Doctors”. First published in the collection A Thin Ghost and Others (1919)--and probably written just prior to publication to complete the volume—”Two Doctors” is probably the most elliptical (I almost said baffling) of M.R. James’ stories, but I believe that any careful reader may unearth details that point to a solution of its mystery. Besides, in a genre where the stock-in-trade is the evanescent and the unknown, could it be that an unresolved ambiguity or two may turn out to be a good thing?

The narrative (which may be gleaned from the excerpts from 18th century legal papers, the materials for a possible law case) involves the careers of two doctors: Dr. Quinn, who—the local rector asserts—was “a plain honest believer, and Dr. Abel, who—according to the aforementioned rector—“interested himself in questions to which Providence, as I hold, designs no answer to be given us.”

Dr. Quinn experiences disturbing dreams of a “chrysalis” that is not “innocent,” covered with “stuff, linen or woollen” that he must clear with his hands.”:

So with many groans, and knowing only too well what to expect, he parted these folds of stuff, or, as it sometimes seemed to be, membrane, and disclosed a head covered with a smooth pink skin, which breaking as the creature stirred, showed him his own face in a state of death.

What has this dream to do with Dr. Abell’s telekinetic powers? With the bedstaff in Dr. Abell’s dispensary, the source of such disturbing phenomena that Luke Jennett—Abell’s servant for twenty years—feels compelled to leave his employment and work for Dr. Quinn? With Abell’s alleged visits? With Quinn’s purchase of elegant new bedclothes? With Quinn’s mysterious illness? And—finally—what has all this to do with plundering of the mausoleum of a noble family in Middlesex?

I’ve got my own my theories. Read “The Two Doctors,” and develop your own theories too.

[Plateresca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite M.R. James, and it leaves one with more than the usual amount of questions. But still nice and creepy :)

[K. Anna Kraft · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have arranged my thoughts into a haiku:

"For the butler's sake,
A cruel man seems keen to kill
Just to shake him up."

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story, one doctor accuses another doctor of stealing his patients and uses supernatural means to get his revenge.

[Kieron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as bad a story as its reputation would suggest. Contains a marvellous Jamesian wallop in the form of a very creepy dream sequence.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

The short story is set in the early 18th century and told mostly in affidavit form from a servant. Dr. Abell holds a grudge against Dr. Quinn believing he had spoken illy of him and stealing some of his patients and is later found dead and suffocated by his bed linen. Dr. Abel seems to allude to demonic spirits that roam the earth and here the story is not clear in telling whether Dr. Abel made a pact with these demons and possibly later stole the grave linen from some unnamed noble family Unfortunately, the ending is poorly written especially for M. R. James.

[Ursula Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short story about the haunting of a doctor. A bit too short, it could’ve used a bit more at the end. Not one of my favorites.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh...

[Per · Rating 2 out of 5]

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/...

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very forgettable.

[Jibbu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't read. Most boring story.