The Aspern Papers and Other Tales, 1884–1888

Henry James

Apr 2022 · Cambridge University Press

About this ebook

The Cambridge Edition of the Complete Fiction of Henry James provides, for the first time, a scholarly edition of a major writer whose work continues to be read, quoted, adapted and studied. The nine tales in this volume, published between 1884 and 1888, include 'The Aspern Papers', set in Venice and featuring a devious scholar attempting to steal the letters of an American poet from his former lover, and 'The Liar,' on the world of painters and their models. These tales exemplify James's continuing interest in the art of short fiction during a period which saw him responding to the stimulations of French naturalism and successfully reworking the international theme that had made him famous at the end of the 1870s. Extensive explanatory notes enable modern readers to understand the tales' historical, cultural and literary references.

About the author

Rosella Mamoli Zorzi is professor emerita of Anglo-American Literature at the University of Venice Ca' Foscari. She has edited several selections of Henry James's letters, both in Italian and in English, including: Letters from the Palazzo Barbaro (1998), Beloved Boy. Letters to Hendrik C. Andersen 1899-1915 (2004) and Letters to Isabella Stewart Gardner (2009). She is also the author of multiple works on Henry James, and most recent volume is Ralph W.Curtis, un pittore americano a Venezia (2019), of which she is preparing an English, revised edition.

Simone Francescato is an Associate Professor in Anglo-American literature and culture at Ca' Foscari University of Venice. He is also the author of Collecting and Appreciating: Henry James and the Transformation of Aesthetics in the Age of Consumption (2010).