# Mr. James Denton — Short Fiction character guide

> Mr. James Denton in Short Fiction by M. R. James.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mr. Denton, James, James Denton

**First appearance:** 0027-the-haunted-dolls-house

## Snapshot

A man furnishing a new house under his aunt's exacting eye, whose innocent purchase of an old manuscript diary brings something else home with it.

## Who they are

Denton is caught between the demands of his aunt's decorating campaign and his own weakness for old books, a weakness that has already cost him her sharp disapproval. He secures Poynter's manuscript diary for twelve pounds ten, a small triumph that feels like a private indulgence amid chintzes and lawn-tennis parties. That purchase is the hinge on which the story turns, drawing him from domestic errands toward an inheritance far stranger than furniture.

## In the story

### [The Diary of Mr. Poynter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/the-diary-of-mr-poynter)

Protagonist; purchases the diary of Mr. Poynter at auction and brings it home to Rendcomb Manor.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/characters/mr_james_denton
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/characters