Since the biographies of M. R. James are fairly thin on the ground, we take what we can get, and Cox's effort is by no means a poor one. This is a slim but thorough biography of James, concentrating on his public life at Eton and King's and his private relationships with friends and family. Cox provides fairly brief (but nicely-done) forays into James' scholarly and literary endeavors, but his humanity shines through very well. Mostly I just wanted more, but that can't be helped. Certainly worth a read for the James fan. ( )