Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of Kingās College, Cambridge, and of Eton College. Though Jamesās work as a medievalist is still highly regarded, he is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre. He redefined the ghost story for the new century by abandoning many of the formal Gothic clichĆ©s of his predecessors and using more realistic contemporary settings. H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith were admirers of Jamesās work. Michael Sadleir described him as āthe best ghost-story writer England has ever producedā. Paul Theroux refers to āThe Mezzotintā as āthe most frightening story I knowā. In his list āThe 13 Most Terrifying Horror Storiesā, T. E. D. Klein placed Jamesās āCasting the Runesā at number one.
Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of Kingās College, Cambridge, and of Eton College. Though Jamesās work as a medievalist is still highly regarded, he is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre. He redefined the ghost story for the new century by abandoning many of the formal Gothic clichĆ©s of his predecessors and using more realistic contemporary settings. H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith were admirers of Jamesās work. Michael Sadleir described him as āthe best ghost-story writer England has ever producedā. Paul Theroux refers to āThe Mezzotintā as āthe most frightening story I knowā. In his list āThe 13 Most Terrifying Horror Storiesā, T. E. D. Klein placed Jamesās āCasting the Runesā at number one.