M.R. James - Collected Ghost Stories

As you can probably gather, I'm having enormous fun trebling my knowledge of IT again trying to post these. I'm persisting (a) because my self-esteem refuses to give in to the most elementary technology and (b) this Folio edition has beautiful illustrations and is well worth getting (though perhaps not at Ardis prices!):

The '70's edition was a "selected" rather than "collected" stories. They were selected by Nigel Kneale ("Quatermass"; "The Stone Tape", etc.). He also supplied the introduction. Illustrations were by Charles Keeping.

Edited to add: I've found some images from the book on somebody's Pinterest board of Keeping's work.

http://www.pinterest.com/stwgogo/charles-keeping/

Cronshaw, I have a serious case of book envy!

I own the 70s edition in an okay condition and from what I remember of it, the illustrations of 2007 edition look more attractive. If light conditions cooperate (not an easily granted wish in November here!), I'll post pics of the older edition within a few days.

Interestingly enough, my copy of Ghost Stories comes from the library of a Welsh writer D. Tecwyn Lloyd, with his bookplate.

>6 Bond_Girl: I've not seen the 1970s Folio edition, but Charles Keeping is one of my very favourite illustrators, he has an extraordinary range - from the wonderful line caricatures of his prolific Folio Dickens output, to the stunning variety on the link at >5 housefulofpaper:. Please do post any others so we may admire from afar!

I did buy it from FS but from one of their 'archive sales' in the MR last year. I've no idea what the original price was and can't find it either after a quick look through the 2007 and 2008 Folio prospectuses as listed on our FSD wiki. From the size of the book, its binding and number of illustrations, I would estimate that if sold new today by FS it would be priced between £32 and £35.

Thanks to Folio's online archiving of past invoices, I see I bought the M. R. James Collected Ghost Stories at the end of November 2007, for £23.95. My guess is that it was released around then - a Christmas title probably - with the customary 20% discount making £29.95 the full list price.

Interesting to see that the 07 edition has an introduction by Penelope Fitzgerald. Presumably this was taken from whichever (older) edition FS used as the template in 07. Unusual, as FS usually commission a new introduction.

> 11

There's no information in the FS book as to where Penelope Fitzgerald's introduction came from, but it's reprinted at the link below, which also gives the original source:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/dec/23/fiction.books

In the end, I changed my mind about the unattractiveness of the 70s edition (it pays to actually crack a book open and not wait for the next Halloween) and I believe it quite lovely. The illustrations by Charles Keeping are truly chilling.













And these deserve a larger size:

Thanks, they're gorgeously gruesome!

The 2007 edition can't have been very popular at the time - it went straight into the 2008 Summer sale at £14.97.

Scared!!!

I remember how this book was first marketed by FS in their autumn catalogue (of whatever year it was) with a group of of titles under the heading 'In the bleak midwinter' - very apt. These are stories truly evocative of the season of death.
The illustrations of this edition are a delight - thanks for posting cronshaw. I never did buy it; I have the very good Joshi edition of MR James in Penguin. But Penguin is, unfortunately, just Penguin, so I may well rethink.

I am enabled again! My son loves ghost stories.

Those illustrations send shivers down my spine. I have that 1973 edition (but 2nd impression, 1974).

>12 housefulofpaper:
Thanks for the link. I looked up the Penguin editions on Amazon, and they have been re-issued since this was written with introductions by ST Joshi (who seems to be cornering the early-20th-century-macabre market).

Fitzgerald's piece is as you would expect from her. I'd describe it as "gentle but pointed".

>13 Bond_Girl:
Thanks for posting the pictures - they are fine, very apt to the material!

Having been enabled, I am looking at available editions on Abe. There are copies of the 73 edition for reasonable prices, then there is Ardis's 07 edition at £45. But then the real fun starts...two editions, from 73 and 79, priced at £75 and £88 respectively. And finally, a 1973 edition on sale in Bath for a mere £395!

>19 DejaVoo: Congratulations, O Impatient One!

13, 17
And apologies for not crediting Bond-Girl for posting the pics from the 70s edition. These picture threads are fun but at times confusing. And I'm easily confused..