Curious Warnings. The Great Ghost Stories of M R James

Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the birth of M R James, the sumptuously-crafted Curious Warnings: The Great Ghost Stories of M R James, edited by Stephen Jones (Jo Fletcher Books £30), contains all the author’s classic supernatural stories collected in a single volume, including the children’s novel The Five Jars, along with uncompleted works, essays, and a 50 page historical Afterword by Stephen Jones, all copiously illustrated by award-winning artist Les Edwards. This is a must-have book for fans of the ghost story, and for those who want to learn a little of the history of the traditional ghost tale.

In his introduction, Jones tells us that he’s revisited the original text in order to improve the punctuation – after all, he says, the stories were originally meant to be read aloud, with punctuation designed for that purpose.

Jo Fletcher Books will launch this 650 page omnibus at tomorrow’s BFS Open Night, with editor Jones and artist Edwards on hand to personalise copies (venue: The Mug House, 1 Tooley Street, London E1 2PF, from 1.00 pm until late). The book is officially published on 5th July.