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The Beast in the Jungle is a 1903 novella by Henry James, first published as part of the collection, The Better Sort. Almost universally considered one of James' finest short narratives, this story treats appropriately universal themes: loneliness, fate, love and death. The parable of John Marcher and his peculiar destiny has spoken to many readers who have speculated on the worth and meaning of human life.
This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic includes a glossary and reader's notes to help the modern reader more fully appreciate the rich complexity of James' language, images, and symbols.Before there was Alfred Hitchcock, there was Henry James, and before Psycho, there was The Turn of the Screw.Why is the young governess the only one who can see the ghosts?Are her young charges haunted or evil?Or is the governess herself mad?The book that claims to start out as a Christmas Eve ghost story quickly becomes a tale of psychological horror as the governess struggles-and ultimately fails-to protect the children from the "corruption" that only she can conceive of...but cannot name.Richly wrought in Late-Victorian prose, Henry James' most famous novel is both hauntingly beautiful and a shocking glimpse into the ultimate source of evil...the human mind.
An isolated, forlorn estate...a very young, inexperienced governess...the boy, Miles, the girl, Flora--two angelically beautiful, strangely distant children...and the fiends.
Phantoms of shadow and madness, twin creatures of evil, ghosts of the condemned. Two figures, half-seen, lurking in twilit windows and dark towers, beckoning...silent...coming ever closer. Walking dead who seek to control the children's bodies, steal their minds, destroy their souls...
Flora and Miles claim to see and hear nothing. But, with mounting horror, their governess discovers the children want the ghosts--
As much as the evil wants them...
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title—offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords.
This edition of The Turn of the Screw includes a Foreword, Biographical Note, and Afterword.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
One of the most disturbing ghost stories ever written, a tale of imagined danger and real dread
A young governess arrives at a secluded country estate, hired by the manor’s often-absent master to look after his orphaned niece and nephew. The young woman, a parson’s daughter, is immediately charmed by eight-year-old Flora—and Miles, two years older, seems like a perfect little gentleman when he is unexpectedly sent home from his boarding school.
But Miles’s steadfast refusal to reveal the cause of his expulsion is troubling, as are the staff’s whispered stories about the previous governess, Miss Jessel, and her lover, the mysterious valet, Peter Quint, both of whom are now dead. Most disturbing of all are the spectral figures wandering the grounds of Bly that only the new governess can see: a woman and a dark man who seem to take a special interest in Miles and Flora. No longer sure of what is real and whom she can trust, the governess desperately tries to hold on to her sanity and protect the innocent children from forces too sinister to name.
A literary masterpiece whose mysteries are open to endless interpretation, The Turn of the Screw has been haunting readers for more than a century.
This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
A young governess arrives at a secluded country estate, hired by the manor’s often-absent master to look after his orphaned niece and nephew. The young woman, a parson’s daughter, is immediately charmed by eight-year-old Flora—and Miles, two years older, seems like a perfect little gentleman when he is unexpectedly sent home from his boarding school.
But Miles’s steadfast refusal to reveal the cause of his expulsion is troubling, as are the staff’s whispered stories about the previous governess, Miss Jessel, and her lover, the mysterious valet, Peter Quint, both of whom are now dead. Most disturbing of all are the spectral figures wandering the grounds of Bly that only the new governess can see: a woman and a dark man who seem to take a special interest in Miles and Flora. No longer sure of what is real and whom she can trust, the governess desperately tries to hold on to her sanity and protect the innocent children from forces too sinister to name.
A literary masterpiece whose mysteries are open to endless interpretation, The Turn of the Screw has been haunting readers for more than a century.
This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
To read a story by Henry James is to enter a fully realized world unlike any other—a rich, perfectly crafted domain of vivid language and splendid, complex characters. Devious children, sparring lovers, capricious American girls, obtuse bachelors, sibylline spinsters, and charming Europeans populate these five fascinating nouvelles, which represent the author in both his early and late phases. From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in “The Turn of the Screw” to the startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in “The Beast in the Jungle,” the mysterious turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed—proving Henry James to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of modern English literature.
From the Paperback edition.
From the Paperback edition.
Henry James’s beloved novel about a young woman’s search for freedom in a world that seeks to tie her to convention
In the wake of her father’s death, young Isabel Archer decides to travel to England to visit her aunt, leaving behind the life set out for her in America and spurning the romantic overtures of her Bostonian suitor. At her aunt’s country estate, Isabel is determined to plot a new course unburdened by routine. But, prodded by convention at every turn, Isabel makes a decision that not only undermines her longing for independence, but may seal her fate forever.
Among one of Henry James’s most timeless works, The Portrait of a Lady is a rich and nuanced depiction of human psychology and the tension between the pull of social norms and the desire for autonomy.
This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
In the wake of her father’s death, young Isabel Archer decides to travel to England to visit her aunt, leaving behind the life set out for her in America and spurning the romantic overtures of her Bostonian suitor. At her aunt’s country estate, Isabel is determined to plot a new course unburdened by routine. But, prodded by convention at every turn, Isabel makes a decision that not only undermines her longing for independence, but may seal her fate forever.
Among one of Henry James’s most timeless works, The Portrait of a Lady is a rich and nuanced depiction of human psychology and the tension between the pull of social norms and the desire for autonomy.
This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
To read a story by Henry James is to enter a world-- a rich, perfectly crafted domain of vivid language and splendid, complex characters. In this classic novella, a young governess who goes to an isolated English estate to take charge of two precocious children gradually realizes that her young charges are under the evil influence of the ghosts of the family's ex-steward and former governess.
This carefully crafted ebook: “The Portrait of a Lady + The Bostonians + The Tragic Muse + Daisy Miller (4 Unabridged Classics)” is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. The Portrait of a Lady is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillan's Magazine in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881. It is the story of a spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who "affronts her destiny" and finds it overwhelming. She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the victim of Machiavellian scheming by two American expatriates. Like many of James's novels, it is set in Europe, mostly England and Italy. Generally regarded as the masterpiece of James's early period, this novel reflects James's continuing interest in the differences between the New World and the Old, often to the detriment of the former. It also treats in a profound way the themes of personal freedom, responsibility, and betrayal. The Bostonians by Henry James was first published as a serial in The Century Magazine in 1885–1886 and then as a book in 1886. This bittersweet tragicomedy centers on an odd triangle of characters: Basil Ransom, a political conservative from Mississippi; Olive Chancellor, Ransom's cousin and a Boston feminist; and Verena Tarrant, a pretty, young protégée of Olive's in the feminist movement. The storyline concerns the struggle between Ransom and Olive for Verena's allegiance and affection, though the novel also includes a wide panorama of political activists, newspaper people, and quirky eccentrics. The Tragic Muse by Henry James was first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly in 1889-1890 and then as a book in 1890. This wide, cheerful panorama of English life follows the fortunes of two would-be artists: Nick Dormer, who vacillates between a political career and his efforts to become a painter, and Miriam Rooth, an actress striving for artistic and commercial success. A huge cast of supporting characters help and hinder their pursuits. Daisy Miller is an 1878 novella by Henry James first appearing in Cornhill Magazine in June–July 1878, and in book form the following year. It portrays the courtship of the beautiful American girl Daisy Miller by Winterbourne, a sophisticated compatriot of hers. His pursuit of her is hampered by her own flirtatiousness, which is frowned upon by the other expatriates when they meet in Switzerland and Italy. Henry James ( 1843 – 1916) was an American-born British writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
Daisy Miller is a fascinating portrait of a young woman from Schenectady, New York, who, traveling in Europe, runs afoul of the socially pretentious American expatriate community in Rome. First published in 1878, the novella brought American novelist Henry James (1843–1916), then living in London, his first international success. Like many of James' early works, it portrays a venturesome American girl in the treacherous waters of European society — a theme that would culminate in his 1881 masterpiece, The Portrait of a Lady.
On the surface, Daisy Miller unfolds a simple story of a young American girl's willful yet innocent flirtation with a young Italian, and its unfortunate consequences. But throughout the narrative, James contrasts American customs and values with European manners and morals in a tale rich in psychological and social insight. A vivid portrayal of Americans abroad and a telling encounter between the values of the Old and New World, Daisy Miller is an ideal introduction to the work of one of America's greatest writers of fiction.
On the surface, Daisy Miller unfolds a simple story of a young American girl's willful yet innocent flirtation with a young Italian, and its unfortunate consequences. But throughout the narrative, James contrasts American customs and values with European manners and morals in a tale rich in psychological and social insight. A vivid portrayal of Americans abroad and a telling encounter between the values of the Old and New World, Daisy Miller is an ideal introduction to the work of one of America's greatest writers of fiction.
Widely recognized as one of literature's most gripping ghost stories, this classic tale of moral degradation concerns the sinister transformation of two innocent children into flagrant liars and hypocrites. The story begins when a governess arrives at an English country estate to look after Miles, aged ten, and Flora, eight. At first, everything appears normal but then events gradually begin to weave a spell of psychological terror.
One night a ghost appears before the governess. It is the dead lover of Miss Jessel, the former governess. Later, the ghost of Miss Jessel herself appears before the governess and the little girl. Moreover, both the governess and the housekeeper suspect that the two spirits have appeared to the boy in private. The children, however, adamantly refuse to acknowledge the presence of the two spirits, in spite of indications that there is some sort of evil communication going on between the children and the ghosts.
Without resorting to clattering chains, demonic noises, and other melodramatic techniques, this elegantly told tale succeeds in creating an atmosphere of tingling suspense and unspoken horror matched by few other books in the genre. Known for his probing psychological novels dealing with the upper classes, James in this story tried his hand at the occult — and created a masterpiece of the supernatural that has frightened and delighted readers for nearly a century.
One night a ghost appears before the governess. It is the dead lover of Miss Jessel, the former governess. Later, the ghost of Miss Jessel herself appears before the governess and the little girl. Moreover, both the governess and the housekeeper suspect that the two spirits have appeared to the boy in private. The children, however, adamantly refuse to acknowledge the presence of the two spirits, in spite of indications that there is some sort of evil communication going on between the children and the ghosts.
Without resorting to clattering chains, demonic noises, and other melodramatic techniques, this elegantly told tale succeeds in creating an atmosphere of tingling suspense and unspoken horror matched by few other books in the genre. Known for his probing psychological novels dealing with the upper classes, James in this story tried his hand at the occult — and created a masterpiece of the supernatural that has frightened and delighted readers for nearly a century.
A collection of six short novels from the celebrated author of The Portrait of a Lady and Washington Square...
By turns chilling, funny, tragic, and profound, Henry James’s short novels allow readers to experience the full range of his skills and vision. The title story, a chilling masterpiece of psychological terror, mixes the phantoms of the mind with those of the supernatural. “Daisy Miller,” the tale of a provincial American girl in Rome that established James’s literary reputation, and “An International Episode” are superb examples of his focus on the clash between American and European values. And in “The Aspern Papers,” “The Alter of the Dead,” and “The Beast in the Jungle,” the author’s remarkable sense of irony, his love of plot twists, and his view of male-female relationships find exquisite expression.
With an Introduction by Fred Kaplan
From the Paperback edition.
By turns chilling, funny, tragic, and profound, Henry James’s short novels allow readers to experience the full range of his skills and vision. The title story, a chilling masterpiece of psychological terror, mixes the phantoms of the mind with those of the supernatural. “Daisy Miller,” the tale of a provincial American girl in Rome that established James’s literary reputation, and “An International Episode” are superb examples of his focus on the clash between American and European values. And in “The Aspern Papers,” “The Alter of the Dead,” and “The Beast in the Jungle,” the author’s remarkable sense of irony, his love of plot twists, and his view of male-female relationships find exquisite expression.
With an Introduction by Fred Kaplan
From the Paperback edition.
HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.
‘Money's a horrid thing to follow, but a charming thing to meet.’
Isabel Archer is a beautiful, intelligent and independent young woman. Brought from America to England by her wealthy Aunt who seeks to further her education and find her niece a husband, Isabel is determined to shape her own future – one that does not necessarily entail becoming a wife. Isabel inherits a fortune when her rich uncle dies and feels even more inclined to turn down two eligible suitors on the basis that she is a woman of her own means. However, a trip to Italy heralds her downfall when she meets the charming Gilbert Osmond, a worthless, yet ambitious and scheming dilettante.
From the author of Daisy Miller, The Wings of the Dove, and The Golden Bowl . . .
The heroine of this powerful novel, often considered James’s greatest work, is the spirited young American Isabel Archer. Blessed by nature and fortune, she journeys to Europe to seek the full realization of her potential—or in modern terms, “to find herself”—but what awaits her there may prove to be her undoing. During her journey, wooers vie for her attentions, including an English aristocrat, a perfect American gentleman, and a sensitive expatriate. But it is only after the ingenue falls prey to the schemes of an infinitely sophisticated older woman that her life takes on its true form. With its brilliant interplay of tensions and characters, The Portrait of a Lady is a timeless and essential American novel.
With an Introduction by Regina Barreca
and an Afterword by Colm Tóibín
From the Paperback edition.
The heroine of this powerful novel, often considered James’s greatest work, is the spirited young American Isabel Archer. Blessed by nature and fortune, she journeys to Europe to seek the full realization of her potential—or in modern terms, “to find herself”—but what awaits her there may prove to be her undoing. During her journey, wooers vie for her attentions, including an English aristocrat, a perfect American gentleman, and a sensitive expatriate. But it is only after the ingenue falls prey to the schemes of an infinitely sophisticated older woman that her life takes on its true form. With its brilliant interplay of tensions and characters, The Portrait of a Lady is a timeless and essential American novel.
With an Introduction by Regina Barreca
and an Afterword by Colm Tóibín
From the Paperback edition.
I
"Olive will come down in about ten minutes; she told me to tell you that. About ten; that is exactly like Olive. Neither five nor fifteen, and yet not ten exactly, but either nine or eleven. She didn't tell me to say she was glad to see you, because she doesn't know whether she is or not, and she wouldn't for the world expose herself to telling a fib. She is very honest, is Olive Chancellor; she is full of rectitude. Nobody tells fibs in Boston; I don't know what to make of them all. Well, I am very glad to see you, at any rate."
These words were spoken with much volubility by a fair, plump, smiling woman who entered a narrow drawing-room in which a visitor, kept waiting for a few moments, was already absorbed in a book. The gentleman had not even needed to sit down to become interested: apparently he had taken up the volume from a table as soon as he came in, and, standing there, after a single glance round the apartment, had lost himself in its pages. He threw it down at the approach of Mrs. Luna, laughed, shook hands with her, and said in answer to her last remark, "You imply that you do tell fibs. Perhaps that is one."
"Oh no; there is nothing wonderful in my being glad to see you," Mrs. Luna rejoined, "when I tell you that I have been three long weeks in this unprevaricating city."
"That has an unflattering sound for me," said the young man. "I pretend not to prevaricate."
"Dear me, what's the good of being a Southerner?" the lady asked. "Olive told me to tell you she hoped you will stay to dinner. And if she said it, she does really hope it. She is willing to risk that."
"Olive will come down in about ten minutes; she told me to tell you that. About ten; that is exactly like Olive. Neither five nor fifteen, and yet not ten exactly, but either nine or eleven. She didn't tell me to say she was glad to see you, because she doesn't know whether she is or not, and she wouldn't for the world expose herself to telling a fib. She is very honest, is Olive Chancellor; she is full of rectitude. Nobody tells fibs in Boston; I don't know what to make of them all. Well, I am very glad to see you, at any rate."
These words were spoken with much volubility by a fair, plump, smiling woman who entered a narrow drawing-room in which a visitor, kept waiting for a few moments, was already absorbed in a book. The gentleman had not even needed to sit down to become interested: apparently he had taken up the volume from a table as soon as he came in, and, standing there, after a single glance round the apartment, had lost himself in its pages. He threw it down at the approach of Mrs. Luna, laughed, shook hands with her, and said in answer to her last remark, "You imply that you do tell fibs. Perhaps that is one."
"Oh no; there is nothing wonderful in my being glad to see you," Mrs. Luna rejoined, "when I tell you that I have been three long weeks in this unprevaricating city."
"That has an unflattering sound for me," said the young man. "I pretend not to prevaricate."
"Dear me, what's the good of being a Southerner?" the lady asked. "Olive told me to tell you she hoped you will stay to dinner. And if she said it, she does really hope it. She is willing to risk that."
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Christopher Newman is an American expatriate in Paris; his fortune made, he has moved to the Old World to enjoy his wealth and find a wife. Newman soon falls for a young widow, the aristocratic Claire de Bellegarde, but his brash New World sensibility horrifies her haughty family. Though the family oppose the idea of the couple’s marriage, reversals of fortune cause them to reconsider. When another suitor arrives on the scene all appears lost, until Newman befriends Claire’s younger brother Valentin and finds himself in possession of a dark family secret. As the novel unfolds, James’s unmistakable stylistic grace combines with his less well-known sense of melodramatic romance, resulting in a finale that combines duels, death, betrayal and blackmail.
Capturing the grandeur of a gracious, splendid Europe of wealth and Old World sensibilities, this glorious, complex novel has become a touchstone for a great writer’s entire literary achievement. From the opening pages, when the high-spirited American girl Isabel Archer arrives at the English manor Gardencourt, James’s luminous, superbly crafted prose creates an atmosphere of intensity, expectation, and incomparable beauty.
Isabel, who has been taken abroad by an eccentric aunt to fulfill her potential, attracts the passions of a British aristocrat and a brash American, as well as the secret adoration of her invalid cousin, Ralph Touchett. But her vulnerability and innocence lead her not to love but to a fatal entrapment in intrigue, deception, and betrayal. This brilliant interior drama of the forming of a woman’s consciousness makes The Portrait of a Lady a masterpiece of James’s middle years.
From the Paperback edition.
Isabel, who has been taken abroad by an eccentric aunt to fulfill her potential, attracts the passions of a British aristocrat and a brash American, as well as the secret adoration of her invalid cousin, Ralph Touchett. But her vulnerability and innocence lead her not to love but to a fatal entrapment in intrigue, deception, and betrayal. This brilliant interior drama of the forming of a woman’s consciousness makes The Portrait of a Lady a masterpiece of James’s middle years.
From the Paperback edition.
This brilliant satire of the women’s rights movement in America is the story of the ravishing inspirational speaker Verena Tarrant and the bitter struggle between two distant cousins who seek to control her. Will the privileged Boston feminist Olive Chancellor succeed in turning her beloved ward into a celebrated activist and lifetime companion? Or will Basil Ransom, a conservative southern lawyer, steal Verena’s heart and remove her from the limelight?
“The Bostonians has a vigor and blithe wit found nowhere else in James,” writes A. S. Byatt in her Introduction. “It is about idealism in a democracy that is still recovering from a civil war bitterly fought for social ideals . . . [written] with a ferocious, precise, detailed—and wildly comic—realism.”
“The Bostonians has a vigor and blithe wit found nowhere else in James,” writes A. S. Byatt in her Introduction. “It is about idealism in a democracy that is still recovering from a civil war bitterly fought for social ideals . . . [written] with a ferocious, precise, detailed—and wildly comic—realism.”
Regarded as one of the key figures of nineteenth century realism, Henry James has become famous for his novels and tales that explore the clash between the Old World Europeans and New World Americans. Using an innovative method of writing from a character’s point of view within a tale, James’ works explore issues related to consciousness and perception, producing his own inimitable ‘impressionist’ style. Delphi Classics is proud to present the complete works of this important master for the first time in publishing history, providing every novel, tale, non-fiction work and bonus material. (Version 10)
* Concise introductions to the novels and other texts
* All 23 novels – including THE OTHER HOUSE, often missed out of collections
* The unfinished novels THE IVORY TOWER and THE SENSE OF THE PAST
* The novel THE WHOLE FAMILY, which James collaborated on with 11 other authors
* All 112 of the novellas (including THE ASPERN PAPERS and THE TURN OF THE SCREW) and short stories with BOTH chronological and alphabetical contents tables
* Includes James' rare plays
* The complete travel writing, with many rare works appearing in digital print for the first time
* Rare Non-Fiction collections and essays
* Features James' three autobiographies, available nowhere else - explore the Great Master's literary life!
* Special BONUS critical texts - discover how writers such as Conrad, Wells, Woolf and Stevenson viewed James’ works
* Many images relating to James and his work
* COMPLETELY UPDATED with revised texts and improvements
* Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres
The Novels
WATCH AND WARD
RODERICK HUDSON
THE AMERICAN
THE EUROPEANS
CONFIDENCE
WASHINGTON SQUARE
THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY
THE BOSTONIANS
THE PRINCESS CASAMASSIMA
THE REVERBERATOR
THE TRAGIC MUSE
THE OTHER HOUSE
THE SPOILS OF POYNTON
WHAT MAISIE KNEW
THE AWKWARD AGE
THE SACRED FOUNT
THE WINGS OF THE DOVE
THE AMBASSADORS
THE GOLDEN BOWL
THE OUTCRY
THE WHOLE FAMILY
THE IVORY TOWER
THE SENSE OF THE PAST
The Tales
LIST OF TALES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
LIST OF TALES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
The Plays
PYRAMUS AND THISBE
STILL WATERS
A CHANGE OF HEART
DAISY MILLER
TENANTS
DISENGAGED
THE ALBUM
THE REPROBATE
GUY DOMVILLE
SUMMERSOFT
THE HIGH BID
THE OUTCRY
The Travel Writing
TRANSATLANTIC SKETCHES
PORTRAITS OF PLACES
A LITTLE TOUR IN FRANCE
ENGLISH HOURS
THE AMERICAN SCENE
ITALIAN HOURS
The Non-Fiction
FRENCH NOVELISTS AND POETS
HAWTHORNE
PARTIAL PORTRAITS
ESSAYS IN LONDON AND ELSEWHERE
PICTURE AND TEXT
WILLIAM WETMORE STORY AND HIS FRIENDS
VIEWS AND REVIEWS
NOTES ON NOVELISTS
WITHIN THE RIM AND OTHER ESSAYS
NOTES AND REVIEWS
THE ART OF THE NOVEL
The Letters
THE LETTERS OF HENRY JAMES
The Autobiographies
A SMALL BOY AND OTHERS
NOTES OF A SON AND BROTHER
THE MIDDLE YEARS
The Criticism
HENRY JAMES — AN APPRECIATION by Joseph Conrad
HENRY JAMES, JR by William Dean Howells
HENRY JAMES: A CRITICAL STUDY by Ford Madox Ford
SUSPENDED JUDGMENTS: HENRY JAMES by John Cowper Powys
AN EXTRACT FROM ‘THE DECAY OF LYING’ by Oscar Wilde
OTHER ESSAYS: HENRY JAMES by Virginia Woolf
MEMOIRS AND PORTRAITS: AN ESSAY AND LETTER by Robert Louis Stevenson
UNDERWOODS: POEMS ADDRESSED TO HENRY JAMES by Robert Louis Stevenson
INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHIES by F. W. Dupee
OF ART, OF LITERATURE, OF MR. HENRY JAMES by H. G. Wells
HENRY JAMES by Arnold Bennett
* Concise introductions to the novels and other texts
* All 23 novels – including THE OTHER HOUSE, often missed out of collections
* The unfinished novels THE IVORY TOWER and THE SENSE OF THE PAST
* The novel THE WHOLE FAMILY, which James collaborated on with 11 other authors
* All 112 of the novellas (including THE ASPERN PAPERS and THE TURN OF THE SCREW) and short stories with BOTH chronological and alphabetical contents tables
* Includes James' rare plays
* The complete travel writing, with many rare works appearing in digital print for the first time
* Rare Non-Fiction collections and essays
* Features James' three autobiographies, available nowhere else - explore the Great Master's literary life!
* Special BONUS critical texts - discover how writers such as Conrad, Wells, Woolf and Stevenson viewed James’ works
* Many images relating to James and his work
* COMPLETELY UPDATED with revised texts and improvements
* Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres
The Novels
WATCH AND WARD
RODERICK HUDSON
THE AMERICAN
THE EUROPEANS
CONFIDENCE
WASHINGTON SQUARE
THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY
THE BOSTONIANS
THE PRINCESS CASAMASSIMA
THE REVERBERATOR
THE TRAGIC MUSE
THE OTHER HOUSE
THE SPOILS OF POYNTON
WHAT MAISIE KNEW
THE AWKWARD AGE
THE SACRED FOUNT
THE WINGS OF THE DOVE
THE AMBASSADORS
THE GOLDEN BOWL
THE OUTCRY
THE WHOLE FAMILY
THE IVORY TOWER
THE SENSE OF THE PAST
The Tales
LIST OF TALES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
LIST OF TALES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
The Plays
PYRAMUS AND THISBE
STILL WATERS
A CHANGE OF HEART
DAISY MILLER
TENANTS
DISENGAGED
THE ALBUM
THE REPROBATE
GUY DOMVILLE
SUMMERSOFT
THE HIGH BID
THE OUTCRY
The Travel Writing
TRANSATLANTIC SKETCHES
PORTRAITS OF PLACES
A LITTLE TOUR IN FRANCE
ENGLISH HOURS
THE AMERICAN SCENE
ITALIAN HOURS
The Non-Fiction
FRENCH NOVELISTS AND POETS
HAWTHORNE
PARTIAL PORTRAITS
ESSAYS IN LONDON AND ELSEWHERE
PICTURE AND TEXT
WILLIAM WETMORE STORY AND HIS FRIENDS
VIEWS AND REVIEWS
NOTES ON NOVELISTS
WITHIN THE RIM AND OTHER ESSAYS
NOTES AND REVIEWS
THE ART OF THE NOVEL
The Letters
THE LETTERS OF HENRY JAMES
The Autobiographies
A SMALL BOY AND OTHERS
NOTES OF A SON AND BROTHER
THE MIDDLE YEARS
The Criticism
HENRY JAMES — AN APPRECIATION by Joseph Conrad
HENRY JAMES, JR by William Dean Howells
HENRY JAMES: A CRITICAL STUDY by Ford Madox Ford
SUSPENDED JUDGMENTS: HENRY JAMES by John Cowper Powys
AN EXTRACT FROM ‘THE DECAY OF LYING’ by Oscar Wilde
OTHER ESSAYS: HENRY JAMES by Virginia Woolf
MEMOIRS AND PORTRAITS: AN ESSAY AND LETTER by Robert Louis Stevenson
UNDERWOODS: POEMS ADDRESSED TO HENRY JAMES by Robert Louis Stevenson
INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHIES by F. W. Dupee
OF ART, OF LITERATURE, OF MR. HENRY JAMES by H. G. Wells
HENRY JAMES by Arnold Bennett
'One ought to choose something very deliberately, and be faithful to that.' Isabel Archer is a young, intelligent, and spirited American girl, determined to relish her first experience of Europe. She rejects two eligible suitors in her fervent commitment to liberty and independence, declaring that she will never marry. Thanks to the generosity of her devoted cousin Ralph, she is free to make her own choice about her destiny. Yet in the intoxicating worlds of Paris, Florence, and Rome, her fond illusions of self-reliance are twisted by the machinations of her friends and apparent allies. What had seemed to be a vista of infinite promise steadily closes around her and becomes instead a 'house of suffocation'. Considered by many as one of the finest novels in the English language, this is Henry James's most poised achievement, written at the height of his fame in 1881. It is at once a dramatic Victorian tale of betrayal and a wholly modern psychological study of a woman caught in a web of relations she only comes to understand too late. This edition reproduces the revised New York Edition, with James's own Preface. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Isabel Archer, a young American, accompanies her eccentric aunt to Europe, where her wit and beauty—in addition to her substantial inheritance—quickly attract all manner of eager suitors. But beneath the romantic elegance of salons and ballrooms lies a tangle of treachery, deceit, and suffering.
The most enduringly popular of Henry James' novels, The Portrait of a Lady reflects the author's interest in the contrast between the Old and New Worlds. He traces Isabel's progress across England, Paris, Florence, and Rome with trenchant observations on customs and attitudes. The heroine's difficulties in reconciling her personal liberty with social propriety express James' shrewd appraisals of the naivete and nobility of the American character, as well as his views on the subtle refinements and conventionality of European culture. A gripping exploration of the clash between freedom and responsibility, this novel offers an accessible entree into the work of Henry James.
The most enduringly popular of Henry James' novels, The Portrait of a Lady reflects the author's interest in the contrast between the Old and New Worlds. He traces Isabel's progress across England, Paris, Florence, and Rome with trenchant observations on customs and attitudes. The heroine's difficulties in reconciling her personal liberty with social propriety express James' shrewd appraisals of the naivete and nobility of the American character, as well as his views on the subtle refinements and conventionality of European culture. A gripping exploration of the clash between freedom and responsibility, this novel offers an accessible entree into the work of Henry James.
In this classic 1888 novella, an anonymous narrator relates his obsessive quest to acquire some letters and other private documents that once belonged to the deceased Romantic poet Jeffrey Aspern. Attempting to gain access to the papers, the property of Aspern's former mistress, he rents a room in a decaying Venetian villa where the woman lives with her aging niece. Led by his zeal into increasingly unscrupulous behavior, the narrator is faced in the end with relinquishing his heart's desire or attaining it an an overwhelming price.
Inspired by an actual incident involving Claire Clairmont, once the mistress of Lord Byron, this masterfully written tale incorporates all those elements expected from James: psychological subtlety, deft plotting, the clash of cultures, and profoundly nuanced representation of scene, mood, and character. This volume also contains James's celebrated Preface from the New York edition of his collected works.
Inspired by an actual incident involving Claire Clairmont, once the mistress of Lord Byron, this masterfully written tale incorporates all those elements expected from James: psychological subtlety, deft plotting, the clash of cultures, and profoundly nuanced representation of scene, mood, and character. This volume also contains James's celebrated Preface from the New York edition of his collected works.
The Turn of the Screw is a departure in a sense for Henry James it is a ghost story rather than a story of Americans and Europeans involved in romantic struggles. The Turn of the Screw begins in an old house on Christmas Eve where an old man tells a ghostly tale involving his sister's governess who saw ghosts many years ago.
The governess had been left in the complete charge of two children, Miles and Flora, by their uncle. He wants nothing to do with them and tells her she must deal with any issue that arises.
The inspiration for a new film starring Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgard, Steve Coogan, and Onata Aprile
After her parents’ bitter divorce, young Maisie Farange finds herself shuttled between her selfish mother and vain father, who value her only as a means for provoking each other. Maisie—solitary, observant, and wise beyond her years—is drawn into an increasingly entangled adult world of intrigue and sexual betrayal until she is finally compelled to choose her own future. Published in 1897 as Henry James was experimenting with narrative technique and fascinated by the idea of the child’s-eye view, What Maisie Knew is a subtle yet devastating portrayal of an innocent adrift in a corrupt society.
After her parents’ bitter divorce, young Maisie Farange finds herself shuttled between her selfish mother and vain father, who value her only as a means for provoking each other. Maisie—solitary, observant, and wise beyond her years—is drawn into an increasingly entangled adult world of intrigue and sexual betrayal until she is finally compelled to choose her own future. Published in 1897 as Henry James was experimenting with narrative technique and fascinated by the idea of the child’s-eye view, What Maisie Knew is a subtle yet devastating portrayal of an innocent adrift in a corrupt society.
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time
Neither Edith Wharton nor E. M. Forster admired it, but Louis Auchincloss calls The Wings of the Dove 'perhaps the greatest of Henry James's novels.' Published in 1902, the novel represented something of a comeback for James, whose only 'bestseller,' Daisy Miller, had appeared more than two decades earlier. Set amid the splendor of fashionable London drawing rooms and gilded Venetian palazzos, the story concerns a pair of lovers who conspire to obtain the fortune of a doomed American heiress. But the naïve young woman becomes both their victim and their redeemer in James's meticulously designed drama of treachery and self-betrayal. 'It seems to me that I know the characters even more intimately than I know the characters in the earlier novels of his Balzac period,' said Louis Auchincloss. 'The Wings of the Dove represents the pinnacle of James's prose.' This version is the definitive New York Edition, which appeared in 1907, together with the author's Preface.
Neither Edith Wharton nor E. M. Forster admired it, but Louis Auchincloss calls The Wings of the Dove 'perhaps the greatest of Henry James's novels.' Published in 1902, the novel represented something of a comeback for James, whose only 'bestseller,' Daisy Miller, had appeared more than two decades earlier. Set amid the splendor of fashionable London drawing rooms and gilded Venetian palazzos, the story concerns a pair of lovers who conspire to obtain the fortune of a doomed American heiress. But the naïve young woman becomes both their victim and their redeemer in James's meticulously designed drama of treachery and self-betrayal. 'It seems to me that I know the characters even more intimately than I know the characters in the earlier novels of his Balzac period,' said Louis Auchincloss. 'The Wings of the Dove represents the pinnacle of James's prose.' This version is the definitive New York Edition, which appeared in 1907, together with the author's Preface.
Henry James’s tragicomic masterpiece pits a headstrong Mississippi lawyer against his feminist cousin in a no-holds-barred fight for the heart of an impressionable young suffragette
When Basil Ransom, a headstrong Mississippi lawyer, comes to Boston to call on his wealthy activist cousin, Olive, an epic battle of wills ensues. Basil is a conservative of the most ardent type while Cousin Olive is steadfast in her radicalism. Perhaps for a laugh, perhaps for a story to tell his lawyer friends back in Mississippi, Basil accompanies Olive to a women’s emancipation rally, whereupon he falls irrevocably in love with a young suffragette, Miss Verena Tarrant, and sets about trying to rewrite her beliefs. The problem is that Olive has been grooming Miss Tarrant as her protégé. Will Basil reform the lovely young activist orator, or will Olive win the young woman’s heart and mind?
Often proclaimed James’s funniest novel and regarded as his most successful political work, The Bostonians deals with love and friendship in the awkward landscape of shifting social roles, feminism in post–Civil War America, and a woman’s place in this brave new world. Funny, astute, and merciless, The Bostonians is one of James’s most successful portrayals of a world teetering between old values and the relentless march of social progress.
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When Basil Ransom, a headstrong Mississippi lawyer, comes to Boston to call on his wealthy activist cousin, Olive, an epic battle of wills ensues. Basil is a conservative of the most ardent type while Cousin Olive is steadfast in her radicalism. Perhaps for a laugh, perhaps for a story to tell his lawyer friends back in Mississippi, Basil accompanies Olive to a women’s emancipation rally, whereupon he falls irrevocably in love with a young suffragette, Miss Verena Tarrant, and sets about trying to rewrite her beliefs. The problem is that Olive has been grooming Miss Tarrant as her protégé. Will Basil reform the lovely young activist orator, or will Olive win the young woman’s heart and mind?
Often proclaimed James’s funniest novel and regarded as his most successful political work, The Bostonians deals with love and friendship in the awkward landscape of shifting social roles, feminism in post–Civil War America, and a woman’s place in this brave new world. Funny, astute, and merciless, The Bostonians is one of James’s most successful portrayals of a world teetering between old values and the relentless march of social progress.
This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
This perfectly wrought little tale of a painter struggling with his muse brings together a number of the most important themes that renowned American writer Henry James returned to again and again in his work -- the difficulty of artistic expression, the meaning of truth, and conflict between socioeconomic classes.
The Portrait of a Lady is a novel by Henry James, first published as a book in 1881. It is one of James's most popular long novels, and is regarded by critics as one of his finest. Henry James (1843-1916) was an Anglo-American writer who spent the bulk of his career in Britain. He is regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James. Story of a spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, a beautiful, intelligent, and headstrong American girl newly endowed with wealth and embarked in Europe on a treacherous journey to self-knowledge, is delineated with a magnificence that is at once casual and tense with force and insight. She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the victim of Machiavellian scheming by two American expatriates. Like many of James's novels, it is set in Europe, mostly England and Italy. Regarded as a masterpiece, this novel reflects James's continuing interest in the differences between the New World and the Old, often to the detriment of the former. It also treats in a profound way the themes of personal freedom, responsibility, and betrayal. Adapted for the screen in 1968 and 1996 with Nicole Kidman.
After the death of her father, Isabel Archer, a young American woman, travels to England to stay with her aunt, where she finds herself an object of affection for several men. When she is left a large legacy by her ailing uncle, she also attracts the attention of those with an interest in her substantial fortune. Faced with decisions about her future, Isabel must live with the consequences of the choices she makes, as her life is forever altered.
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Verena Tarrant is caught between two people vying for control of her attention and affections. Because of her eloquence as a speaker for the feminist movement, Olive Chancellor wants her attention focused on the cause. But handsome lawyer Basil Ransome has his mind set on capturing her heart, and in the process, taking her away from Olive and her feminist crusade.
Henry James deftly explores the politics of the early women’s movement in this satirical novel, and keenly observes the friction exists even now—is it truly possible for women to have everything?
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The Wings of the Dove is a 1902 novel by Henry James. This novel tells the story of Milly Theale, an American heiress stricken with a serious disease, and her effect on the people around her. Some of these people befriend Milly with honorable motives, while others are more self-interested.
A young governess turns up at a country estate in Essex to care for Miles and Flora, two young orphans left in care of their absentee uncle. Soon after her tenure begins, the governess begins to see strangers walking the grounds, and interacting with the siblings in odd and disturbing ways. The governess begins to feel they are not wholly human—but rather are ghosts haunting Miles and Flora, and their influence upon the children has tragic consequences.
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The Beast in the Jungle is a novella by Henry James. Almost universally considered one of James' finest short narratives, this story treats appropriately universal themes: loneliness, fate, love and death. The parable of John Marcher and his peculiar destiny has spoken to many readers who have speculated on the worth and meaning of human life. John Marcher, the protagonist, is reacquainted with May Bartram, a woman he knew ten years earlier, who remembers his odd secret: Marcher is seized with the belief that his life is to be defined by some catastrophic or spectacular event, lying in wait for him like a "beast in the jungle." May decides to buy a house in London with the money she inherited from a great aunt, and to spend her days with Marcher, curiously awaiting what fate has in store for him. Marcher is a hopeless egoist, who believes that he is precluded from marrying so that he does not subject his wife to his "spectacular fate". He takes May to the theater and invites her to an occasional dinner, but does not allow her to get close to him. As he sits idly by and allows the best years of his life to pass, he takes May down as well, until the denouement where he learns that the great misfortune of his life was to throw it away, and to ignore the love of a good woman, based upon his preposterous sense of foreboding.
Trajectory presents classics of world literature with 21st century features! Our original-text editions include the following visual enhancements to foster a deeper understanding of the work: Word Clouds at the start of each chapter highlight important words. Word, sentence, paragraph counts, and reading time help readers and teachers determine chapter complexity. Co-occurrence graphs depict character-to-character interactions as well character to place interactions. Sentiment indexes identify positive and negative trends in mood within each chapter. Frequency graphs help display the impact this book has had on popular culture since its original date of publication. Use Trajectory analytics to deepen comprehension, to provide a focus for discussions and writing assignments, and to engage new readers with some of the greatest stories ever told.
"The Beast in the Jungle" by Henry James centers around John Marcher and May Bartram who form a strong friendship based on John's fear that some significant event is waiting for him.
“The Beast in the Jungle” was first published in London by Henry James in 1903 by Methuen Publishing in the collection The Better Sort. It’s one of the most famous novella about by Henry James about the meaning of life, death, love and fate.
This book contains a special note on Henry James by Joseph Conrad (Henry James. An appreciation, 1905) and a detailed bibliography including all the publications of the Author.
This interactive digital edition includes: Interactive Notes and Chapters, News about the Author, News about the Book, a very interesting Tag cloud of the Book and a link to connect to the Goodreads community to ask questions and share comments and opinions.
This book contains a special note on Henry James by Joseph Conrad (Henry James. An appreciation, 1905) and a detailed bibliography including all the publications of the Author.
This interactive digital edition includes: Interactive Notes and Chapters, News about the Author, News about the Book, a very interesting Tag cloud of the Book and a link to connect to the Goodreads community to ask questions and share comments and opinions.
The Beast in the Jungle is the story of John Marcher, the protagonist, and May Bartram, a woman he has known in the past. They meet at a luncheon and May remembers that John had been tormented in the past by the idea that he would meet a catastrophic end what this will be he does not know, but he refers to it as the beast in the jungle, metaphorically lying in wait to destroy his life.
Caught in the crossfire of her parents' acrimonious divorce, witness to their battles, intrigues and affairs, neglected and exploited, Maisie is a child who knows too much about the world of adults. James's portrait of a little girl who maintains her goodness and dignity in the face of the bitterness and profligacy of her warring parents is both thought-provoking and inspiring.
When Maggie Verver gets married, she worries that her widowed father—with whom she has always been close—is going to be lonely, so encourages him to marry her friend Charlotte. What father and daughter do not know is that Charlotte and Maggie’s new husband, Prince Amerigo, have a past relationship that is soon rekindled, creating an intricate web of secrets that threaten to tear the marriages apart.
With a focus on the consciousness of the four central characters, The Golden Bowl is an examination of relationships—familial and romantic—that explores adultery, jealousy, and the complexities of marriage.
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Travelling in Europe with her family, Daisy Miller, an exquisitely beautiful young American woman, presents her fellow-countryman Winterbourne with a dilemma he cannot resolve. Is she deliberately flouting social convention in the outspoken way she talks and acts, or is she simply ignorant of those conventions? When she strikes up an intimate friendship with an urbane young Italian, her flat refusal to observe the codes of respectable behaviour leave her perilously exposed. In Daisy Miller James created his first great portrait of the enigmatic and dangerously independent American woman, a figure who would come to dominate his later masterpieces.
Of the three late masterpieces that crown the extraordinary literary achievement of Henry James, The Wings of the Dove (1902) is at once the most personal and the most elemental.
James drew on the memory of a beloved cousin who died young to create one of the three central characters, Milly Theale, an heiress with a short time to live and a passion for experiencing life to its fullest. To the creation of the other two, Merton Densher and the magnificent, predatory Kate Croy, who conspire in an act of deceit and betrayal, he brought a lifetime's distilled wisdom about the frailty of the human soul when it is trapped in the depths of need and desire. And he brought to the drama that unites these three characters, in the drawing rooms of London and on the storm-lit piazzas of Venice, a starkness and classical purity almost unprecedented in his work.
Under its brilliant, coruscating surfaces, beyond the scrim of its marvelous rhetorical and psychological devices, The Wings of the Dove offers an unfettered vision of our civilization and its discontents. It represents a culmination of James's art and, as such, of the art of the novel itself.
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
James drew on the memory of a beloved cousin who died young to create one of the three central characters, Milly Theale, an heiress with a short time to live and a passion for experiencing life to its fullest. To the creation of the other two, Merton Densher and the magnificent, predatory Kate Croy, who conspire in an act of deceit and betrayal, he brought a lifetime's distilled wisdom about the frailty of the human soul when it is trapped in the depths of need and desire. And he brought to the drama that unites these three characters, in the drawing rooms of London and on the storm-lit piazzas of Venice, a starkness and classical purity almost unprecedented in his work.
Under its brilliant, coruscating surfaces, beyond the scrim of its marvelous rhetorical and psychological devices, The Wings of the Dove offers an unfettered vision of our civilization and its discontents. It represents a culmination of James's art and, as such, of the art of the novel itself.
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
Disillusioned with the harsh and competitive American business world, Christopher Newman travels to Europe for an extended holiday with the intention of finding a wife. When he meets the beautiful Claire de Cintré, he thinks he has found the woman he is looking for, but soon finds that European society has poses its own obstacles to his plans.
Although The American was well-reviewed and popular at the time of its publication, Henry James later returned to the work, making a large number of revisions for a 1907 edition. This digital version is the original unrevised publication from 1877.
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The heroine of The Wings of a Dove is Milly, an extremely rich American girl, who has been left with no living relatives. She spends much of her time with friend and fellow traveler Susan Shepherd Stringham and together they become part of the social circle of Maud Lowder, a friend of Susan's who lives in London.
Milly and Susan are not introduced to the readers until the third chapter. The first two chapters are taken up with Kate Croy, who is Mrs. Lowder's niece, and Merton Densher, a journalist whom Kate is in love with.
The Bostonians was first published in serialized form in The Century Magazine in 1885 and 1886. It was published in book form in London in 1886. A change from Henry James look at Europeans, the novel is a study of the American scene.
James had high hopes for its success and was very disappointed with its slow sales. Critics feel it lakes a sympathetic character and that the descriptions of New England life lack spark. Chapters with no dialogue at all test the most diligent of Henry James aficionados.
The Bostonians is different from most of James books due to its strong political, rather than social, theme.
The Golden Bowl was published in novel form in 1904. It was structured in five parts. The novel was included in the New York Edition collection of Henry James' works. James considered the novel to be one of his best works. However, the novel would prove to be the least popular of his three major late novels, although some literary critics do not believe the novel received its due.
In The Golden Bowl, Maggie Verver and her widowed father are Americans living in England. At the beginning of the story, Maggie is marries Italian nobleman, Prince Amerigo. Maggie and Amerigo continue to live with Mr. Verver but as time passes her father considers that he himself should marry again.
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‘The place, with its grey sky and withered garlands, its bared spaces and scattered dead leaves, was like a theatre after the performance-all strewn with crumpled playbills.’
Revered as one of the greatest ghost stories ever told, James’s The Turn of the Screw is an eerie Victorian masterpiece.
When an inexperienced governess goes to work at Bly, a country house in Essex to look after a young boy Miles and his sister Flora, all manner of strange events begin to occur. The governess spots a ghostly man and woman around the grounds and is told by the housekeeper that the valet and previous governess haunt the house. It soon becomes clear that the children are inexplicably connected to these ghosts in some way and the young governess struggles to protect the children, although from exactly what, she is not sure.
Exploring the psychological and sexual fears of an era, this ambiguous, suspenseful and anxiety-inspiring novella remains one of Henry James’s most well-known tales.
The Turn of the Screw is a ghost story novella written by Henry James. Due to its ambiguous content, it became a favourite text of academics who subscribe to New Criticism. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive. Many critics have tried to determine the exact nature of the evil hinted at by the story. However, others have argued that the true brilliance of the novella comes with its ability to create an intimate confusion and suspense for the reader. Throughout his career James was attracted to the ghost story genre. However, he was not fond of literature's stereotypical ghosts, the old-fashioned 'screamers' and 'slashers'. Rather, he preferred to create ghosts that were eerie extensions of everyday reality—"the strange and sinister embroidered on the very type of the normal and easy," as he put it in the New York Edition preface to his final ghost story, "The Jolly Corner". The Turn of the Screw is no exception to this formula. In fact, many have wondered if he didn't intend the "strange and sinister" to be embroidered only on the governess's mind and not on objective reality. The result has been a long-standing critical dispute about the reality of the ghosts and the sanity of the governess. Beyond the dispute, critics have closely examined James's narrative technique for the story. The framing introduction and subsequent first-person narrative by the governess have been studied by theorists of fiction interested in the power of fictional narratives to convince or even manipulate readers. The imagery of The Turn of the Screw is reminiscent of the gothic genre. The emphasis on old and mysterious buildings throughout the novella reinforces this motif. James also relates the amount of light present in various scenes to the strength of the supernatural or ghostly forces apparently at work.
This carefully crafted ebook: “What Maisie Knew (Unabridged)” is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. What Maisie Knew is a novel by Henry James. It tells the story of the sensitive daughter of divorced, irresponsible parents. The book is also a masterly technical achievement by James, as it follows the title character from earliest childhood to precocious maturity. When Beale and Ida Farange are divorced, the court decrees that their only child, the very young Maisie, will shuttle back and forth between them, spending six months of the year with each. The parents are immoral and frivolous, and they use Maisie to intensify their hatred of each other. Beale Farange marries Miss Overmore, Maisie's pretty governess, while Ida marries the likeable but weak Sir Claude. Maisie gets a new governess: the frumpy, somewhat-ridiculous but devoted Mrs. Wix. Henry James (1843–1916) was an American-British writer who spent most of his writing career in Britain. He is regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism.