What do you think?
For the Dead Remember: The Life of M. R. James
M. R. James: greatest of all ghost story writers, a repressed member of the English establishment struggling against changing times
Every Christmas around the turn of the twentieth century, Montague Rhodes James would gather his friends and students together in his rooms at King's College Cambridge, for what he once described as a 'dark séance', in which he read a new ghost story by candlelight at midnight. But the ghost stories are only one aspect of the life and writing of this fascinating, complex, troubled, difficult man. Monty James was widely recognized as perhaps the outstanding scholar of his generation, a man whose academic achievements were unparalleled, and who became the foremost living authority on medieval manuscripts, on stained glass, on Biblical apocrypha, and on the occult. He was also a formidable academic administrator, as Provost of King's College Cambridge and then as Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, he led his institution through the difficult years of the First World War, in which many of his colleagues and students were killed. After the war, he returned to the sanctuary of his beloved Eton, which he served as Provost until his death.
James's life in Cambridge brought him into contact, and often into conflict, with many of the great figures and movements of his age, from Henry Sidgwick and the Society for Psychical Research to John Maynard Keynes, Lytton Strachey, and the Bloomsbury Group, with which he had many connections. He was the friend of A. C. Benson, the teacher of Rupert Brooke. He was a repressed gay man, whose friends recognized this even where he did not. He was often troubled by modern ideas and tendencies, widening social access to universities, degrees for women. This is also a story of the profound consolations of scholarship, and of a man who found meaning on the wilder shores of human experience, in a world of demons and ghosts.
Every Christmas around the turn of the twentieth century, Montague Rhodes James would gather his friends and students together in his rooms at King's College Cambridge, for what he once described as a 'dark séance', in which he read a new ghost story by candlelight at midnight. But the ghost stories are only one aspect of the life and writing of this fascinating, complex, troubled, difficult man. Monty James was widely recognized as perhaps the outstanding scholar of his generation, a man whose academic achievements were unparalleled, and who became the foremost living authority on medieval manuscripts, on stained glass, on Biblical apocrypha, and on the occult. He was also a formidable academic administrator, as Provost of King's College Cambridge and then as Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, he led his institution through the difficult years of the First World War, in which many of his colleagues and students were killed. After the war, he returned to the sanctuary of his beloved Eton, which he served as Provost until his death.
James's life in Cambridge brought him into contact, and often into conflict, with many of the great figures and movements of his age, from Henry Sidgwick and the Society for Psychical Research to John Maynard Keynes, Lytton Strachey, and the Bloomsbury Group, with which he had many connections. He was the friend of A. C. Benson, the teacher of Rupert Brooke. He was a repressed gay man, whose friends recognized this even where he did not. He was often troubled by modern ideas and tendencies, widening social access to universities, degrees for women. This is also a story of the profound consolations of scholarship, and of a man who found meaning on the wilder shores of human experience, in a world of demons and ghosts.
- GenresBiography
464 pages, Hardcover
First published September 10, 2026
About the author
Darryl Jones
13 books7 followersProfessor of English and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Trinity College Dublin
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 30, 2026
When Professor Jones announced he had started this biography, knowing something of James’ achievements and vast social network, I expected it to be finished in the next decade not the current one! It is a monumental achievement to have worked through so much primary manuscript material, as evidenced in the end notes, in a relatively short time. Being more thorough than the previous attempts by Cox and Pfaff yet with an easy narrative style, this book will be the de facto reference for James’ life for the foreseeable future.
The fulsome praise does not mean I am in complete agreement with the author. In the introduction he quickly and unequivocally states his theory on James’ sexuality. I will have to say my heart wants to agree with him but for me the author provides little material to support his claim. The discussion of James’ sexuality, elsewhere and in this book, is limited to just hetero or homosexuality - which is a bit outmoded. The author provided just as much evidence to support a theory of asexuality (which is my stance). He also observed James’ early obsession with stories of child sacrifice and mutilation; his disgust for touch, hair fully covering the body, and long fingernails - things that may point to a very dark sexuality are reported but not fully investigated.
I found the author’s reaction to the Jane Harrison scandal a bit outré. Taking James’ use of the word “flay” and interpreting it psychosexually when he clearly was referring to his scholarly written response is disingenuous. A graphic word is not proof of ideation or intent of physical violence. To counter this, James’ collegial relationships with female scholars - including my heroine Belle Green - are buried in an end note.
The overall biography is fair and well balanced. This made the author’s imposition in the two items above readily stand out from the rest of the material.
The book completely merits 5 stars and I gave it my own highest honor by acquiring both the print and ebook.
The fulsome praise does not mean I am in complete agreement with the author. In the introduction he quickly and unequivocally states his theory on James’ sexuality. I will have to say my heart wants to agree with him but for me the author provides little material to support his claim. The discussion of James’ sexuality, elsewhere and in this book, is limited to just hetero or homosexuality - which is a bit outmoded. The author provided just as much evidence to support a theory of asexuality (which is my stance). He also observed James’ early obsession with stories of child sacrifice and mutilation; his disgust for touch, hair fully covering the body, and long fingernails - things that may point to a very dark sexuality are reported but not fully investigated.
I found the author’s reaction to the Jane Harrison scandal a bit outré. Taking James’ use of the word “flay” and interpreting it psychosexually when he clearly was referring to his scholarly written response is disingenuous. A graphic word is not proof of ideation or intent of physical violence. To counter this, James’ collegial relationships with female scholars - including my heroine Belle Green - are buried in an end note.
The overall biography is fair and well balanced. This made the author’s imposition in the two items above readily stand out from the rest of the material.
The book completely merits 5 stars and I gave it my own highest honor by acquiring both the print and ebook.
October 7, 2026
This is a masterly biography of a most unusual figure. One of a type that has almost completely disappeared: the English gentleman scholar and antiquarian. M. R. James is now only remembered for one thing: the outstanding "ghost stories" or, more accurately. "tales of the supernatural". James initially produced these as entertainments for his Cambridge students and colleagues, but once he started publishing them, they became extremely popular and have so remained. Always in print and now supported by TV dramas.
Darryl Jones shows how James's life story reveals much about attitudes in late nineteenth and early twentieth century higher academia. James became an authority on early religious thought and practices - not exclusively Christian - and was never happier than in cataloguing libraries, translating manuscripts and delving into the arcane world of ancient and medieval thought.
James was an intensely private and withdrawn figure. He never married, was uncomfortable in female company and was rigidly opposed to female advancement at Cambridge. However, there is no evidence of any sexual relationships. It is important to stress this because, although Darryl Jones suggests a same sex preference. he does not go down the rabbit-hole of defining James in this way, and thereby reading too much into some of the ghost stories.
I found the passages dealing with James' time as Provost of King's College, Cambridge and Vice-Chancellor extremely powerful and it is clear that James was able to rise to the tragedy of the First World War as it affected the University with skill and humanity.
A wonderful biography of James was produced in the 1980s by the late Michael Cox. Darryl Jones brings a harder-edge to his subject and makes pertinent negative criticisms of James. But he also brings out the many good qualities and, along with a pleasing style and wit, gives new life to this distinctive man. Jones also cleverly interposes the stories in the narrative chronology, which enhances understanding.
A fine book which I fully recommend.
Darryl Jones shows how James's life story reveals much about attitudes in late nineteenth and early twentieth century higher academia. James became an authority on early religious thought and practices - not exclusively Christian - and was never happier than in cataloguing libraries, translating manuscripts and delving into the arcane world of ancient and medieval thought.
James was an intensely private and withdrawn figure. He never married, was uncomfortable in female company and was rigidly opposed to female advancement at Cambridge. However, there is no evidence of any sexual relationships. It is important to stress this because, although Darryl Jones suggests a same sex preference. he does not go down the rabbit-hole of defining James in this way, and thereby reading too much into some of the ghost stories.
I found the passages dealing with James' time as Provost of King's College, Cambridge and Vice-Chancellor extremely powerful and it is clear that James was able to rise to the tragedy of the First World War as it affected the University with skill and humanity.
A wonderful biography of James was produced in the 1980s by the late Michael Cox. Darryl Jones brings a harder-edge to his subject and makes pertinent negative criticisms of James. But he also brings out the many good qualities and, along with a pleasing style and wit, gives new life to this distinctive man. Jones also cleverly interposes the stories in the narrative chronology, which enhances understanding.
A fine book which I fully recommend.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews