Collected Stories: Volume 2

by Henry James

The Private Life (1892) p. 3
The Real Thing (1892) p. 39
Owen Wingrave (1892) p. 67
The Middle Years (1893) p. 103
The Death of the Lion (1894) p. 125
The Coxon Fund (1894) p. 163
The Next Time (1895) p. 223
The Altar of the Dead (1895) p. 265
The Figure in the Carpet (1896) p. 303
The Turn of the Screw (1898) p. 341
In the Cage (1898) p. 451
The Real Right Thing (1899) p. 543
The Great Good Place (1900) p. 557
Miss Gunton of Poughkeepsie (1900) p. 583
The Abasement of the Northmores (1900) p. 597
The Special Type (1900) p. 617
The Tone of Time (1900) p. 637
The Two Faces (1900) p. 659
The Beldonald Holbein (1901 p. 675
The Story in It (1902) p. 697
Flickerbridge (1902) p. 715
The Beast in the Jungle (1903) p. 737
The Papers (1903) p. 785
Fordham Castle (1904) p. 885
Julia Bride (1908) p. 907
The Jolly Corner (1908) p. 945
Crapy Cornelia (1909) p. 981
The Bench of Desolation (1909) p. 1011
A Round of Visits (1910) p. 1061

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, American

1120 pages, Hardcover

Published March 7, 2000

About the author

Henry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."

Reviews

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the following 7 stories this time around — several of which were rereads (much needed and long delayed). At his best, his short stories are classics; but not all survive that cut. There will be no surprises here:

Henry James, “The Beast in the Jungle” (1903) [6]

Henry James, “The Altar of the Dead” (1895) [5.5]

Henry James, “The Middle Years” (1893) [5.5]

Henry James, “The Figure in the Carpet” (1896) [5.5]

Henry James, “The Real Thing” (1892) [4+]

Henry James, “The Real Right Thing” (1899) [3.5]

Henry James, “The Tree of Knowledge” (1900) [3.5] — this story is not in this collection for some reason.

[josé almeida · Rating 5 out of 5]

segundo volume dos contos e novelas curtas de james, abrangendo o período de 1892 a 1910. já li o estranho “owen wingrave”, uma variação sobre a tradicional ghost story e tive uma surpresa com “the middle years”, james no seu melhor; entre estas mil páginas estão aqui também obras-primas como “the turn of the screw” e “the beast in the jungle”.

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

*The Private Life (1892)
The Real Thing (1892)--4
*Owen Wingrave (1892)
*The Middle Years (1893)
*The Death of the Lion (1894)
*The Coxon Fund (1894)
*The Next Time (1895)
*The Altar of the Dead (1895)
*The Figure in the Carpet (1896)
*The Turn of the Screw (1898)
*In the Cage (1898)
The Real Right Thing (1899)--2
*The Great Good Place (1900)
Miss Gunton of Poughkeepsie (1900)
*The Abasement of the Northmores (1900)
The Special Type (1900)
*The Tone of Time (1900)
*The Two Faces (1900)
The Beldonald Holbein (1901)
The Story in It (1902)
Flickerbridge (1902)
*The Beast in the Jungle (1903)
The Papers (1903)
*Fordham Castle (1904)
*Julia Bride (1908)
The Jolly Corner (1908)--2
Crapy Cornelia (1909)
The Bench of Desolation (1909)
A Round of Visits (1910)
***
*Greville Fane (1892)
*The Friends of the Friends (1896)
*Europe (1899)
*Paste (1899)
*The Third Person (1900)
The Tree of Knowledge (1900)--2