M. R. James Books

This book is fantastic! It is a fairly comprehensive overview of about half of the contemporary Duck and Goose callmakers of today. Highly recommended.

Walter Map (1130s-1209?) was a Medieval Welsh writer and clergyman who wrote in Latin. The only work we can most definitely attest to him is the De Nugis Curialium (Courtiers' Trifles) which is present in Latin and English in this volume. Walter Map was for some time in the 1160s a member of Henry II of England's court. The contents of De Nugis Curialium is vast and seemingly disconnected. It is composed of stories (including some of the earliest werewolf stories, tales of demonic infanticide, great hunts), historical tidbits (the section on the Byzantine empire is entirely incomprehensible), and diatribes against religious orders and women. The Dissuasio Valerii, one of the most important anti-women tracts in Medieval Europe, was the only section of this work published and disseminated while the rest of the broad ranging satire was not.

De Nugis shifts from straightforward satire and invective against the court and the Mirror of Princes genre to satire on the religious orders, especially the Cistercians. He certainly not the only contemporary writer of this period to lambaste monastic orders for their perceived hypocrisy, material goals, and abandoning earlier idealistic aims. Gerald of Wales, John of Salisbury, Nigel of Canterbury, Peter Blois, and others (most members of Henry II's court) wrote similar works if not less brutal. However, Map aims his attack primarily and most fiercely against the Cistercians while saying relatively nice things about the Grandimontines, Gilbertines, and Cathusians. He takes joy in pointing out how St. Bernard (one of the great voices of the Cistercian order) could not perform miracles he set out to do, how the Cistercians cannot "serve God without Mammom," and how they are told to live in deserts and deserted places so they create their uninhabited regions by burning down villages and other churches. The introduction cautions the reader by saying that "One does not go to map for a fair and balanced portrait of the Cistercian order" (xliv) however common criticisms can be found in the vast number of anti-Cistercian tracts written at the time.

Because of the vast area of topics that Map writes about (heretics, foundations of various monastic orders, apparitions, Gillescop the Scot, the Hospitality of the Welsh, the Haunted Shoemaker of Constantinople) it is impossible for me go into more depth besides in the topic that I am most interested in - the anti-Cistercian writings of the Late 12th Century. One gets the feeling that this compilation of stories and digressions was something read for others to discuss and laugh about, although, Map might have had a more serious purpose that is difficult (and argued about in academic circles) to uncover. The Introduction, by M. R. James, is scholarly, concise, and like my review focuses on the central points of the work (religious invective). This work is a challenge to understand. Firstly, the reader is tempted to take Map too seriously, and secondly, since this was not published Map's motives and reasons become more hidden. James' introduction provides similar cautions - with these statements in mind, Walter Map's De Nugis Curialium is a romp of a read chalk full with some absolutely delightful Medieval satire and invective! This is a must buy/read for the Medieval Historian.

Want to know what really makes men tick? Cabell had it all figured out. It's about fantasy and the various postures men assume in the pursuit thereof. Start with any of his books and go on to whatever you can find. There IS a chronology to the History but, unlike so many other series, it doesn't matter where you start with Cabell. It gets richer and more dazzeling with each volume.

Although I LOVE reading vampire novels/stories, there was a time I believed that it may not be correct that I read these stories, or have them in my house because of my religious beliefs. So, I sold a couple of my books in a garage sale, Dracula's Brood, included! I couldn't stop regretting it (for years), and I didn't stop thinking about it until I found it again- that's how much I enjoyed that book!

For those who have the need to determine erosion factors and soil loss this is an excellent book. I have used it to check the results of computer modeling programs for terrace and water impound srtuctures; the programs will only see what is placed in. Using the formulas longhand the flaws in the imputes can be found. I like the book very well.

"A Thin Ghost and others" (1919) is the slimmest of M. R. James's (MRJ's) supernatural publications. Instead of purchasing this volume, you might want to consider one of his more complete collections. Ash-Tree Press's "A Pleasing Terror" (2001), contains the complete and heavily annotated supernatural writings of MRJ, and no true Monty fan should be without it.

The next best collection, "Casting the Runes and Other Stories" edited by Michael Cox, contains most of MRJ's supernatural stories and is quite a bit cheaper than "A Pleasing Terror."

The following stories are included in "A Thin Ghost and others":

"The Residence at Whitminster"--Dr. Ashton, Dean of Whitminster, himself childless, attempts to raise his wife's sister's orphaned son. He also takes in the Viscount Saul, the Earl of Kildonan's heir, who is a youth of rather morbid disposition. As the story opens, the orphaned Frank is dying of what appears to be brain fever, brought on by a great fright. Lord Saul is overtaken by a fit of laughter when he hears that Frank is dying. However, he does not laugh for long. Many years after the sudden deaths of Frank and Lord Saul, a new family takes residence in the prebendal house at Whitminster. Miss Oldys, niece to the family, discovers a scrying glass that once belonged to the sinister Viscount Saul.

"The Diary of Mr Poynter"--A book collector finds a sample of fabric in an old diary and decides to have it reproduced as curtains for his bedroom.

"An Episode of Cathedral History"--Mr. Lake is deputed to examine the archives of the Cathedral of Southminster, and is curious to see what the ancient building looks like at night. He hears the tale of a rather plain altar-tomb and what transpired when a Victorian Dean attempted to move it.

"The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance"--This is the only one of MRJ's stories that was specifically set over the Christmas holiday, even though he wrote many of his stories to be read at Christmas. The sudden, mysterious disappearance of his uncle forces a young man to cancel his previous holiday engagements and join the search that is in progress for his relative, who was a rather unlikeable rector. This story features a rather grisly Punch and Judy show, and an equally horrible Christmas service in the Rector's former church.

"Two Doctors"--Dr. Abell and Dr. Quinn (think 'Abel and Cain') both live and practice in the same parish. Dr. Abell appears to be a dabbler in the supernatural, and blames Dr. Quinn for the loss of his patients. Dr. Quinn begins to have horrible nightmares about a man who is struggling to break free of a chrysalis. He believes that the nightmares are brought about by his old bed linen, so he buys new linen that is "marked in thread with a coronet and a bird." When Dr. Quinn is found smothered in his bed, the ghastly origin of the new linen comes to light.

This textbook is a well-respected overview of various special learning needs. The readable style uses a concrete and understandable approach. The book provides an excellent introduction to the field of special education or may be helpful to teachers preparing for the PRAXIS special education examination.

Designed for educators, key topics include (a) exceptionality, (b) programs and services, (c) learning and behavior disorders, (d) physical, sensory, and communicative impairments, (e) giftedness, (f) at-risk youth, (g) life-span services, and (h) parent and family involvement.

A helpful companion website provides additional support for teachers and students.

Parents may find the book helpful.

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Throughout the two decades from 1964 to 1984, Fontana published a remarkable skein of ghost story collections, piloted by R. Aikman and later by R. Chetwynd-Hayes, no mean supernatural authors themselves. Some of the paperbacks in this series, which winds its way up to the "20th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories" are now collectors' items and worth over a hundred dollars apiece.

For this fourth book in the series, Robert Aickman selected eleven supernatural tales, including Alexander Pushkin's "The Queen of Spades" which was also made into an opera--an unusual fate for a ghost story!

These are the tales in the 4th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories:

"The Accident" by Ann Bridge--Many great ghost stories are set in the Alps and this is one of them. A pair of climbers, brother and sister, come across a set of tracks that begin in an open snowfield, near the place where two other climbers had fallen to their deaths a month earlier. Then the sister begins to receive postcards from one of the dead climbers.

"Not on the Passenger List" by Barry Pain--A young widow takes passage on a ship to England, where she is to remarry. Her late husband appears in her cabin and tries to persuade her to drown herself.

"The Sphinx without a Secret" by Oscar Wilde--Aikman cheated by including this story, which has no ghost. A mysterious young woman is confronted by her fiancé, who breaks off their engagement.

"When I was Dead" by Vincent O'Sullivan--A young man witnesses his own funeral.

"The Queen of Spades" by Alexander Pushkin--An 87-year-old Countess dies before revealing her supposed secret for winning at cards. Her ghost appears to the man who frightened her to death, revealing the cards he needed to play in order to win a fortune. Would you trust the ghost of the woman you frightened to death?

"Pargiton and Harby" by Desmond MacCarthy-- Harby meets his old friend, Pargiton who seems to be making amends for an ill-spent life. Pargiton begs Harby to visit him, because he seems to bring out the best in the reformed evil-doer. Harby comes, but so does something else.

"The Snow" by Hugh Walpole--The two Mrs. Ryders, one of them dead, battle over their meek, inoffensive husband.

"Carlton's Father" by Eric Ambrose--I would classify this story as science fiction, since it involves a time warp, disguised as a room in Carlton's house, where no-one ages.

"A School Story" by M.R. James--Two men reminisce over the ghost stories that were told about their public schools. One of them concerns a master with a homicidal past.

"The Wolves of Cernogratz" by Saki--Wolves howl around the castle when one of the Cernogratz family dies.

"Mad Monkton" by William Wilkie Collins--Generations of the reclusive Monkton family suffered from hereditary insanity. Alfred, last of the Monkton line falls in love with the beautiful young Ada, but before he can propose to her, he must travel to Italy to recover the body of his Uncle Stephen, the black sheep of the Monkton family, who was killed in a duel. Everyone thinks Alfred is crazy for trying to recover the body, but an old family prophecy and the ghost of Uncle Stephen urge him onward.

The item was exactly as discribed and arrived in good condition. I would gladly buy from this seller again...anytime!