The M. R. James BBC Radio Collection

By: M. R. James

Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, James D'Arcy, Anton Lesser, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Derek Jacobi, Fenella Woolgar, full cast

Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Spine-tingling stories by M. R. James, plus a chilling original drama and two bonus programmes about his life and work

M. R. James was the master of the uncanny. His classic supernatural stories have haunted readers for over a century, and been adapted countless times for radio, TV and film.

This collection features dramatisations of twelve of his most popular stories – The Mezzotint; Casting the Runes; The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral; A Warning to the Curious; Rats; Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come To You, My Lad; The Tractate Middoth; Lost Hearts; The Rose Garden; Number 13; Martin’s Close and Count Magnus. Among the star-studded casts are Mark Gatiss, Derek Jacobi, James D’Arcy, Anton Lesser, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Donald Wolfit.

Also included are a trio of readings by Benjamin Whitrow: Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook; A School Story and The Haunted Dolls’ House.

Neil Brand’s disturbing drama The Haunting of M. R. James, starring Mark Gatiss and Fenella Woolgar, sees horrific events from James’s own stories echoed in reality.

The life of M. R. James is discussed by Muriel Gray and Christopher Frayling in an episode of biography series Great Lives, presented by Humphrey Carpenter. Finally, in a fascinating documentary – The Ghosts of M.R. James – Michell Raper examines the author’s life and work, with readings from several of his stories.

Running Order:
The Mezzotint
Casting the Runes
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
A Warning to the Curious
Rats
Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come To You, My Lad
The Tractate Middoth
Lost Hearts
The Rose Garden
Number 13
Canon Alberic's Scrapbook
A School Story
The Haunted Doll's House
Martin's Close
Count Magnus
The Haunting of M. R. James
Great Lives: M. R. James
The Ghosts of M. R. James

©2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Perfect for a plane ride ✈️

Spectacular mysteries with equally stunning narration. James’ stories are fun and engaging. These are perfect for a plane ride as the stories keeps you enthralled and the cast keeps you submersed.

Excellent!

I loved the performances. James is such an outstanding gifted story teller. I really appreciate his style of writing.

Pleasantly refreshing

The theatrical aspect is fresh and serves to boost imagination, albeit appearing a bit distracting at times. The stories are classic and don't really need introduction. I would still prefer the more traditional approach to this vigorous acting out, though. But this was new and entertaining just the same.

Entertaining mix of dramatizations and interviews

While I prefer my M. R. James unabridged, I did enjoy most of the dramatizations in this collection - even when they departed from the stories. My favorites were the ones closest to the originals, and the voice-actors all did an excellent job. I liked the bonus material very much - "The Haunting of M. R. James", an original story suggesting that James' stories were inspired by real-life horrors, was quite entertaining, and I also appreciated the interviews/discussions about James and his work.

Still creepy after all these years!

A fabulous listen, I enjoyed the whole thing immensely! Atmospheric creeping dread at its best!

Disappointing Package, Should’ve Been Longer

I was looking forward to this release. It includes 12 of James’ stories dramatized, 3 read a new original audio drama and two examinations of his work. It turned out to be disappointing. The 12 stories were far too short. Only partially dramatized and heavily narrated, they are too short to make an impact. You are better off finding readings of the stories in their entirety. The 3 readings are better, the original audio drama is excellent. The two explorations are good. For me, the best adaptation is the Conception of Terror which updated his stories for the modern age and were dramatized in their entirety. The cast and production are excellent.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

absolute joy from beginning to end. M. R. James is a genius of unease.

Your 15 Minutes is up, Mark!

Mark Gattis once again manages to "re-imagine" and "re-boot" more classics, leaving his indelible stamp of mediocrity and hubris on them, like the sticky fingerprints of an over-indulged child.
Apparently he is not content with having mangled Doyle's legendary detective and feels compelled to continue his vandalism of literary classics by butchering the stories of M. R. James.
While the performances and recordings are excellent, it is Gattis' meddling with plots and characters to make them more "contemporary" (i.e. Woke-compliant) which guts these atrocities of their original context, prose, and power.
At this point, I am inclined to pose the same question about Mark Gattis that Henry II asked regarding Thomas Beckett: "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"