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Post by Michael Connolly on Oct 12, 2016 11:29:14 GMT
John Clute's The Encyclopedia of Fantasy is now available to read online. It is very useful. For instance, Mike Ashley's article on Anthologies, mentioned elsewhere on Vault of Evil, has three separate sections on Fantasy, Supernatural and Horror Fiction.  The Encyclopedia, which treats supernatural and horror as subsets of fantasy fiction, is a bit skewed in favour of fantasy. As a result, the entry on R. Chetwynd-Hayes is (incredibly) longer than the entry on M. R. James. However, there is a separate entry on The James Gang (authors influenced by MRJ), which cites The James Gang: A Bibliography of Writers in the M.R. James Tradition, written by one Rosemary Pardoe. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy can be accessed from this page of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction website: sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?id=0&nm=introduction_to_the_online_text |
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Post by ropardoe on Oct 12, 2016 14:02:51 GMT
John Clute's The Encyclopedia of Fantasy is now available to read online. It is very useful. For instance, Mike Ashley's article on Anthologies, mentioned elsewhere on Vault of Evil, has three separate sections on Fantasy, Supernatural and Horror Fiction. The Encyclopedia, which treats supernatural and horror as subsets of fantasy fiction, is a bit skewed in favour of fantasy. As a result, the entry on R. Chetwynd-Hayes is (incredibly) longer than the entry on M. R. James. However, there is a separate entry on The James Gang (authors influenced by MRJ), which cites The James Gang: A Bibliography of Writers in the M.R. James Tradition, written by one Rosemary Pardoe. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy can be accessed from this page of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction website: sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?id=0&nm=introduction_to_the_online_textIt's not a bad entry on The James Gang. The James Gang entry in the recent encyclopaedia, Ghosts in Popular Culture & Legend, reckons I may have coined the term, which is way wrong. I still think the first to put it in print was Mike Ashley. |
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Post by jamesdoig on Oct 14, 2016 21:27:46 GMT
I still think the first to put it in print was Mike Ashley. It's catchier than The Disciples of M.R. James, this from a 1991 issue of the Book & Mag Collector:  Naturally it mentions G&S, at least the anthology, at the end:  |
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Post by jamesdoig on Oct 14, 2016 22:44:32 GMT
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Post by helrunar on Oct 15, 2016 2:40:17 GMT
Love seeing those mag covers James Doig and the delightfully improbable juxtapositions. I have the feeling that Nancy Mitford would have found her name hovering over Christopher Lee's Dracula hilarious. That article by Simon Rowson looks interesting, too.
H.
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Post by dem bones on Oct 15, 2016 5:42:24 GMT
A couple more here. Book & Magazine Collector. From my tiny experience of B&MC, Simon Rowson's The Disciples of M.R. James is typical of the articles. A wonderful read but way, way too short, over just as you're getting into it. You come away thinking you've just read a taster for "coming in our next issue."  Dallas GoffinIt's not a bad entry on The James Gang. The James Gang entry in the recent encyclopaedia, Ghosts in Popular Culture & Legend, reckons I may have coined the term, which is way wrong. I still think the first to put it in print was Mike Ashley. To quote yourself, Ro (hope you don't mind!). "I make no claims to having coined the title of this booklet for use in relation to writers in the James tradition. There is an article entitled "The James Gang: The Disciples of M. R. James " by Mike Ashley in the USA magazine Horrorstruck 10, published in 1988. But the phrase had been in use amongst Jamesian scholars for many years before that. The name of the person who first thought to apply the title more generally associated with Frank and Jessie to M. R. James' followers is probably irretrievably lost in the mists of time." From Why The James Gang?, The James Gang: A Bibliography Of Writers In The M. R. James Tradition, Haunted Library, 1991. |
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Post by pulphack on Oct 15, 2016 9:17:09 GMT
I think she would, too. As an awestruck admirer of - particularly - the post-war novels, I would say she bows to no-one in her sense of sardonic irony (now there's a mixture)...
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Post by jamesdoig on Oct 15, 2016 9:45:23 GMT
I got it for years. It was a real shame when it died - killed off by the Internet like lots of other magazines. |
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Post by Michael Connolly on Oct 15, 2016 11:40:56 GMT
Richard Dalby's "The Ghost Stories of M.R. James" in Book and Magazine Collector 16 (June 1985) introduced me to Ghosts & Scholars, the seventh issue of which Rosemary had advertised for sale. I've still got that copy of BMC, the one with "The Disciples of M.R. James, and 250 (Xmas 2004) which contains Richard Dalby's "M.R. James: The centenary of Ghost Stories of an Antiquary", a revised and updated version of his first article.   Incidentally, the War on Want Bookshop in Botanic Avenue, Belfast has a boxful of BMCs at 50p each. Most are in excellent condition. A collector must have died! |
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Post by ropardoe on Oct 15, 2016 14:25:06 GMT
To quote yourself, Ro (hope you don't mind!). "I make no claims to having coined the title of this booklet for use in relation to writers in the James tradition. There is an article entitled "The James Gang: The Disciples of M. R. James " by Mike Ashley in the USA magazine Horrorstruck 10, published in 1988. But the phrase had been in use amongst Jamesian scholars for many years before that. The name of the person who first thought to apply the title more generally associated with Frank and Jessie to M. R. James' followers is probably irretrievably lost in the mists of time." From Why The James Gang?, The James Gang: A Bibliography Of Writers In The M. R. James Tradition, Haunted Library, 1991. That about sums it up. I'd just add that as a fan of Westerns, I was happy to adopt the term, despite a snobby reaction from one or two people. |
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Post by ropardoe on Oct 15, 2016 14:30:06 GMT
Richard Dalby's "The Ghost Stories of M.R. James" in Book and Magazine Collector 16 (June 1985) introduced me to Ghosts & Scholars, the seventh issue of which Rosemary had advertised for sale. I've still got that copy of BMC, the one with "The Disciples of M.R. James, and 250 (Xmas 2004) which contains Richard Dalby's "M.R. James: The centenary of Ghost Stories of an Antiquary", a revised and updated version of his first article. Interesting. My first small ad in B&MC brought in a couple of dozen new subscribers, which was the best reaction I ever had to an ad. It was an example of the law of diminishing returns though - after a couple more ads at intervals, I was only ever getting one or two new readers from them. Still, that's better than some places where G&S has been plugged over the years. |
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Post by ropardoe on Oct 15, 2016 14:32:24 GMT
I still think the first to put it in print was Mike Ashley. It's catchier than The Disciples of M.R. James, this from a 1991 issue of the Book & Mag Collector: Naturally it mentions G&S, at least the anthology, at the end: Simon Rowson was a subscriber back then, and contributed a couple of pieces of artwork to G&S. We met him once in London - he was very pleasant but it was a bit disconcerting that he was carrying around a samurai sword with him. Wrapped up, I hasten to add - he was taking it to the British Museum to get valued. |
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Post by Michael Connolly on Feb 8, 2020 13:37:06 GMT
To quote yourself, Ro (hope you don't mind!). "I make no claims to having coined the title of this booklet for use in relation to writers in the James tradition. There is an article entitled "The James Gang: The Disciples of M. R. James " by Mike Ashley in the USA magazine Horrorstruck 10, published in 1988. But the phrase had been in use amongst Jamesian scholars for many years before that. The name of the person who first thought to apply the title more generally associated with Frank and Jessie to M. R. James' followers is probably irretrievably lost in the mists of time." From Why The James Gang?, The James Gang: A Bibliography Of Writers In The M. R. James Tradition, Haunted Library, 1991. That about sums it up. I'd just add that as a fan of Westerns, I was happy to adopt the term, despite a snobby reaction from one or two people. "The James Gang: The Disciples of M. R. James" is actually in Horrorstruck #6, starting on p.10. I hope this is the case as I've just ordered a copy of it from Richard Dalby's Library. Horrorstruck seems to have struck out at #9.  |
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