The Aspern Papers and Other Tales

An impressive new selection of Henry James's short stories, edited by Pulitzer Prize-nominated James biographer Michael Gorra

This volume gathers seven of the very best of Henry James's short stories, all exploring the relationship between art and life. In the title story, "The Aspern Papers," a critic is determined to get his hands on a great poet's papers hidden in a faded Venetian house -- no mater what the human cost. "The Author of Beltraffio," "The Lesson of the Master," and "The Figure in the Carpet" all focus on naive young men's unsettling encounters with their literary heroes. In "The Middle Years," a dying novelist begins to glimpse his own potential, while "The Real Thing" and "Greville Fane" explore the tension between artistic and commercial success. These fables of the creative life reveal James at his ironic, provocative best.