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Aspern Papers / The Spoils of Poynton
two short novels
Paperback
Published January 1, 1959
About the author
Henry James
4,861 books4,073 followersHenry 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."
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."
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 24, 2015
I think I’m a Henry James reader, although I’ll confess to often letting my eyes skim over the page to get the basic gist rather than going as slow as one should to parse each sentence. I remember loving The Americans but not really picking up very much simply because of the refined sense of these being “important” books that should be savored. Well, since I’m on the kick of reading whatever I come across in the first box I pull out from under the bed, Henry James it was.
*Spoiler Alert* The Aspern Papers is the story of a biographer searching for papers from a long ago love affair between the poet he is obsessed with and a reclusive woman in Italy. She lives with her niece who seems to be helping him trick her into giving up the papers until she realizes what she has in terms of control and tries to demand marriage in exchange for the goods. The poet is said to be Byron and certainly there are biographers obsessed enough to act in this manner. On a side note, odd to read this after The Biographer’s Tale by Byatt. Perhaps because of this recent reading, I found it difficult to sympathize with the editor and so didn’t feel the “mood” promised by the cover blurb. I felt that he was fairly unlikable for tricking the women into taking him as a lodger and beyond that, I grew tired of his obsession with the poet. This is also likely influenced by my own turn away from literary studies, but I struggled to embrace the importance of the letters beyond biographical details that were already essentially known in that it was a known love affair. Anyway, it does beg the question about our obsession with material objects so there was personal interest there.
The Spoils of Poynton likewise lost my interest at some point. Of course, I loved the obsession of Mrs. Gereth for her home and all its treasures. I was enchanted by the way they were symbolic for her and the way she used them to manipulate other people. Should I take up literary study again, this work should be on my list. Where the work lost me was with Fleda’s insistence upon Owen’s honor to Mona. I’m not sure if at this point he was still legally bound to her as was the case in The Pickwick Papers, but my modern sensibility had a hard time being moved by her refusal to admit her own feelings until he was a free man, especially as she was such a modern character in many ways. I suppose it comes down to the drama factor and for me, it just didn’t hold up here. The irony of the conclusion is perfectly fitting, of course, but at that point, I could only muster a smirk.
*Spoiler Alert* The Aspern Papers is the story of a biographer searching for papers from a long ago love affair between the poet he is obsessed with and a reclusive woman in Italy. She lives with her niece who seems to be helping him trick her into giving up the papers until she realizes what she has in terms of control and tries to demand marriage in exchange for the goods. The poet is said to be Byron and certainly there are biographers obsessed enough to act in this manner. On a side note, odd to read this after The Biographer’s Tale by Byatt. Perhaps because of this recent reading, I found it difficult to sympathize with the editor and so didn’t feel the “mood” promised by the cover blurb. I felt that he was fairly unlikable for tricking the women into taking him as a lodger and beyond that, I grew tired of his obsession with the poet. This is also likely influenced by my own turn away from literary studies, but I struggled to embrace the importance of the letters beyond biographical details that were already essentially known in that it was a known love affair. Anyway, it does beg the question about our obsession with material objects so there was personal interest there.
The Spoils of Poynton likewise lost my interest at some point. Of course, I loved the obsession of Mrs. Gereth for her home and all its treasures. I was enchanted by the way they were symbolic for her and the way she used them to manipulate other people. Should I take up literary study again, this work should be on my list. Where the work lost me was with Fleda’s insistence upon Owen’s honor to Mona. I’m not sure if at this point he was still legally bound to her as was the case in The Pickwick Papers, but my modern sensibility had a hard time being moved by her refusal to admit her own feelings until he was a free man, especially as she was such a modern character in many ways. I suppose it comes down to the drama factor and for me, it just didn’t hold up here. The irony of the conclusion is perfectly fitting, of course, but at that point, I could only muster a smirk.
June 2, 2014
Once I figured out how to read Henry James (with about 30 pages left) I really enjoyed it. James's structure is confusing because it is not based on narrative as much as it is on mood. The beautiful thing about James is how his tone is developed by the words he uses. If I read James again it will likely get 4 stars. Even though the stories are magnificently told, they aren't extremely interesting plots.
September 21, 2012
Two short novels by Henry James--require a lot of concentrations, but the pleasure of such excellent writing is worth it. I don't know exactly what Mr. James had in mind but I sure came away thinking that all the effort and attention people give to "things" is such a waste as they miss all the relationships they might form.
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November 18, 2018I find Henry James very difficult to finish. Even if I'm stuck on a plane or bus and have nothing else to do, the layers of description built into long, comma-filled sentences make it hard for me to lose myself in his worlds. And both stories started off slow, which did not help. Once I waded through all the build-up though, the endings are satisfying.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews