The Aspern Papers

by Henry James

Arguably the most popular and critically successful of James longer works, The Aspern Papers tells the story of a poetry enthusiast and aspiring biographer driven to desperate lengths to procure the last letters of a recently passed American poet, Jeffrey Aspern. Reflecting many of James own reservations about publicity and biographical exploitation, The Aspern Papers remains a powerful defense of the dignity and privacy that should be afforded all authors in life and in death.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, 19th Century, Italy, Novella, American, Literature

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1888

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

[Orsodimondo · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE DARK SIDE OF THE ART


Veduta di Venezia in atmosfera molto Aspern Papers.

Sembra che siano 30 anni che non rileggo questo libro: è tempo di riprenderlo in mano sapendo di ritrovare l’immenso piacere della prima e delle altre volte.
So che ci sarà scoperta anche se ormai lo conosco bene.
Ma è un’opera che non finisce di regalare e svelare.

Dietro l'intreccio pseudo thriller, magnifico stratagemma, c'è un intero universo di cultura, amore, vita, conoscenza.


I giardini settecenteschi di Palazzo Soranzo Cappello a Venezia che servirono da modello a James.

America e Europa. Donne e uomini. Vecchio e nuovo. Desiderio erotico, fisico, desiderio d’amore.
C’è suspense.
C’è in forma strepitosa una delle città più struggenti, di cui James coglie acutamente l’atmosfera di appartamento collettivo (questo splendido domicilio comune così familiare, così domestico e sonoro, assomiglia anche a un teatro in cui gli attori stacchettino sui ponti).


Vittore Carpaccio, il pittore veneziano prediletto da Proust. Qui un dettaglio da ‘Il miracolo della croce al ponte di Rialto’ conservato al Museo dell’Accademia di Venezia.

C’è ragionamento sull’arte e il potere d’attrazione attraverso la stessa arte.
Ci sono scatole cinesi, specchi che rimandano e confondono e illudono.
Dubbi e sensazioni, doppiezza e ambiguità.
C’è sapiente rotazione d’aspetti, artifizi stilistici meditati e consapevoli.
C’è la ricerca del sacro Graal, che è una caccia al tesoro che procede strato dopo strato: ma il prezzo per ottenere lo scrigno, che contiene quello che non si trova, è troppo alto perfino per il cacciatore.


Vanessa Redgrave è Juliana Bordereau nel film TV del 2018 diretto da Julien Landais.

C’è una giovane bella donna che fece innamorare perdutamente un grande poeta romantico, che adesso è diventata una vecchia mostruosa in carrozzella, perennemente nascosta da un veletta, probabilmente cieca, avida, dalla lingua tagliente e la mente perfida, forse però guadagnando in ironia, chissà.
Però, chissà, un’anima le è rimasta, ed è anima innamorata, protettiva del ricordo: quando il narratore tenta di rubare le preziose carte, la vecchia Juliette lo sorprende, si erge ad angelo protettore del tesoro, si erge dalla carrozzella, cala la veletta, lascia dardeggiare i suoi mitici occhi azzurri, gli stessi che avevano fatto innamorare il poeta Aspern, e bolla il narratore con un canaglia di pennivendolo.


Joely Richardson, figlia di Vanessa Redgrave, è Miss Tina.

Secoli di letteratura.
Millenni di esistenza umana.
Una lettura da non perdere: da isola deserta.
Fino alla fine.


Jonathan Rhys-Meyers è il protagonista maschile.

PS
Si tratta di un testo che per la lunghezza, la quasi unità di luogo, la compattezza dell’azione, il numero ristretto di personaggi, tutti ben sviluppati, si presta molto bene a essere adattato. Così è stato, per lo più in televisione, anche spagnola e francese, perfino spostando l’azione da Venezia al Venezuela, ancor più di frequente in palcoscenico, trasformando l’artista defunto del quale si cerca il carteggio in un capitolo mancante al Grande Gatsby di Francis Scott Fitzgerald. Il prossimo tentativo, annunciato l’anno scorso da Variety, ha se non altro il cast finora più ghiotto: madre e figlia nella vita e nella finzione, Vanessa Redgrave e Joely Richardson.
PPSS
E alla fine il film è arrivato, ed è stato presentato qualche giorno fa all'ultima Mostra del cinema di Venezia (l'edizione 2018, la #75). Fuori concorso, proiezione speciale, omaggio a Vanessa Redgrave insignita col Leone alla carriera.


Non ho visto il film, ma non credo che lo farò.

[Glenn Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the section of his Moral Discourses entitled How a person can preserve their proper character in any situation the Stoic philosopher Epictetus says “You are the one who knows yourself – which is to say, you know how much you are worth in your own estimation, and therefore at what price you will sell yourself; because people sell themselves at different rates. Taking account of the value of externals, you see, comes at some cost to the value of one’s own character.”

I cite this quote since, in my reading of this Henry James novella, we are asked to ponder just this question as we follow the narrator’s quest for papers and letters penned by the late, great poet Jeffrey Aspern.

The first few chapters are like a work of fiction written in slow motion. But then through a series of revelations the story picks up serious momentum having the pace and timing of a detective novel, all the while suffused in the signature elegance of the author’s language, as in this scene where the narrator takes middle age Miss Tina for a ride on a warm summer evening, “We floated long and far, and though my friend gave no high-pitched voice to her glee I was sure of her full surrender. She was more than pleased, she was transported; the whole thing was an immense liberation. The gondola moved with slow strokes, to give her time to enjoy it, and she listened to the splash of the oars, which grew louder and more musically liquid as we passed into the narrow canals, as if it were a revelation of Venice.”

For me, the real philosophic and psychological juice of this fine tale comes in the closing chapter. I wouldn’t want to disclose any of the luscious details so as to spoil a reader’s fresh experience. Highly recommended.

[Kalliope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I generally do not like to discuss the plot in a review. And I will not in this one either. But apart from delighting in James’ prose and in his superb ability to characterize and develop personalities, reading this novella has made me think about what makes a good story.

For I was captured by the suspense James created out of a relatively simple situation.

What makes a good plot? It certainly needs a structure, a kind of frame that gives it independence and self-sufficiency. That means it demands its own space. It also requires to move along time and to make the reader want to press on that sensation of progress, or rather, to want the waiting and the anxious curiosity disappear and time to evaporate. And for this, an illusion of necessity has to be created when the story unfolds for it has to surprise and satisfy him.

James builds up the suspense by playing with the elasticity of time. He has us waiting. He makes us participants of the contained patience of the hunter who restlessly waits for his loot. But then monotony is woken up suddenly by a move from its prey. And everything is on the move again and acceleration presses on. Only to stop again when the chased turns around and faces us.

This is just one such aspect of this wonderful novella, it seems this one was James’ favourite.

Another one would be the warning relevant to those of us who may be lured by the fascination of an artist and his deification. Relic-adoration can make one’s mind, and morals, turn.

Beware, Proust-ians...

Beware, Shelley-ians...

[Jola · Rating 5 out of 5]

What did I think?
It's really hard to think feeling weak in the presence of sheer beauty, having your breath taken away and being hypnotised!

Two weeks later
Not much has changed since I finished reading. I still feel almost as infatuated with this novella as the nameless narrator was obsessed with Jeffrey Aspern's papers. I am constantly not capable of ‘Jola thinks rationally’ mode, so instead of sharing logical musings I will tell you what happened when I was reading this amazing book by Henry James, who was absent from Linda Grant’s murdered library. She explains: 'I have never been able to remember the beginning of his sentences by the time I get to the end’.

The first thing that struck me was Henry James’ ornate writing style, which is his hallmark. It’s the third book by this author that I’ve read, so I was already familiar and ready to face the challenge. Words, words, words… They were like a window pane, separating me from the world of ‘The Aspern Papers’. They not only express thoughts and feelings. They shamelessly shimmer, enchant and dazzle as well. Sometimes I was overwhelmed by never-ending phrases and a bit tired with James’ flamboyant eloquence. I felt like breaking the cold glass between me and the narrator, Miss Tita, 'such a terrible relic as the aunt' - Miss Juliana Bordereau and 'the golden glow of Venice'.

Then suddenly I noticed something totally unexpected: the story had touched me to the core, imperceptibly and stealthily. Believe me, I was literally shaky when I was finishing ‘The Aspern Papers’. By the way, in my opinion the last meeting of the narrator and Miss Tita is one of the best literary scenes ever.

I discovered the second surprise after I had finished reading James’ novella. I found out that the prototype of Jeffrey Aspern was Percy Bysshe Shelley, who happens to be one of my all time favourite poets. It makes the story even more attractive!

I adore Venice depicted in James' novella. It’s picturesque, full of changeable light, but also disquieting – even windows watch the characters discreetly: ’Their motionless shutters became as expressive as eyes consciously closed’. Truth be told, if I hadn't already got a soft spot for La Serenissima in my heart, I would fall in love reading ‘The Aspern Papers’. It would be truly delightful to read James' novella on spot, so if Venice is your holiday destination this year, please, make sure you take this book with you. If a trip is out of the question, indulge in James' vivid descriptions.

One more thing I love about ‘The Aspern Papers’ is its ambiguity. James’ novella is not only about les liaisons dangereuses between literature and life. It is also an ode to relativity. You can’t label the characters easily. It’s hard to decide who is the victim and who is the tormentor, what are their real intentions. The author provides us with questions, we have to find answers and they most probably will differ, depending on the reader. Anaïs Nin said: ’We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.’

Lastly, special thanks to Orsodimondo, whose mesmerising review inspired me to read ‘The Aspern Papers’ at once.

[Axl Oswaldo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read The Aspern Papers very quickly, I must confess that:
1. I am a huge, huge fan of Henry James and his works.
2. If I pick up a novella or a short story written by him, it is likely that I will read it and keep reading it, from beginning to end, in just one sitting.

Of course The Aspern Papers was not an exception to the previous fact: it took me about four hours to finish it, basically I couldn't put it down, and trust me, the whole experience has been worth it quite a bit.
This is a typical Henry James story: an American man—in this case a nameless man—who is obsessed with finding some papers which belonged to Jeffrey Aspern (a very known poet) travels to Venice, since he thinks that an Aspern's former lover, Mrs Bordereau, might own these relics in her house. The question is: will he be able to do anything in order to get those documents? And if so, at what cost?

This novella has become my second favorite book by James, only after Washington Square, since we have very well developed characters, a good, straightforward prose—not the confusing, dense writing style of his last novels—, a compelling story who follows our protagonist and his attempts(?) to get the Aspern papers, and finally, that perfect ending (in my view) – I couldn't have expected a different one.
In short, I enjoyed reading this great piece of literature a lot, and obviously I'd wholeheartedly recommend it, especially because this might be, for instance, a good reading to kick off your Jamesian journey with.

That was originally what I had loved him [Jeffrey Aspern] for: that at a period when our native land was nude and crude and provincial, when the famous “atmosphere” it is supposed to lack was not even missed, when literature was lonely there and art and form almost impossible, he had found means to live and write like one of the first; to be free and general and not at all afraid; to feel, understand, and express everything.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended by Michael, The Aspern Papers is a remarkable short story/novela by James who wrote my favorite ghost story of all time--The Turn of the Screw. As with the Turn of the Screw, much is left unsaid, the reader has to determine through extremely minute variations of conversation and subtle action what is really going on. The main character is morally deficient and we witness his further descent into a quagmire.

[Eric Byrd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nabokov is completely spot-on in his criticism of The Aspern Papers, about which he complains in 1941 letter to Edmund Wilson:

Yesterday I read The Aspern Papers. No. He writes with a very sharp nib and the ink is very pale and there is very little of it in his inkpot…The style is artistic but it is not the style of an artist…He has charm (as the weak blond prose of Turgenev has), but that’s about all.

I had recalled, while reading The Aspern Papers, a negative reference to it in the The Nabokov-Wilson Letters, but not until I consulted the letters did I realize how perfectly Nabokov nailed the anemia of the novella’s conception and composition. Nabokov is especially relevant because the situation of The Aspern Papers is so similar to that of Lolita, and the differences in handling are, to use a word that abounds in James’s prefaces, “signal.” Both works have as their first-person narrators duplicitous men-of-letters who lurk as lodgers in homes of the unwitting - both hoping, through familiarity and proximity, to secure treasures harbored by the proprietors. Humbert wants his landlady’s daughter; the narrator of The Aspern Papers hopes to get his hands on a cache of letters written to his landlady, in her distant youth, by a famous poet of whose works the narrator is editor and idolater. Both are exquisitely attuned to the movements within the house, and seek to orchestrate fortuitous “chance” encounters with some residents and avoid run-ins with others. Both pretend to be absorbed in innocent work (Humbert’s “learned opus”, the Aspern narrator’s gardening) while keeping a sly eye on their quarry. With imaginative abandon Nabokov unleashes Humbert’s wicked humor and mad lyricism. By contrast James is annoyingly sedate; his narrator is certainly obsessive and imposing and scheming, but all that is gently screened from the reader by the poise and gentlemanliness of the voice James gives him. James does at a few points give the narrator one or two sardonic internal asides, juxtaposed with the hilariously unctuous flattery he dispenses in order to ingratiate himself with the proprietress - but he doesn’t ever let the him fully inhabit the cynicism and unreasonableness of his quest for Jeffrey Aspern's papers. Lacking any of the idiosyncratic imagination, cracked humor and eloquent blind-spots of an unreliable, unreasonable narrator, The Aspern Papers struck me as staid, and not a little pointless: the narrator's relative inoffensiveness leaves the issues at stake - Americans in the Romantic era, the conditions which heighten or diminish our subjective appreciation of the past - to be treated with greater liveliness and personal slant in James’s preface than in the novella itself.

[Emilio Berra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giallo veneziano d'autore
"Il carteggio Aspern", breve e bellissimo romanzo, venne scritto da H. James nel 1887 durante un suo soggiorno in Italia.
Lo spunto deriva da un fatto di cui sentì parlare: un fervido ammiratore di Shelley, avendo saputo che l'ormai anziana amante di Byron (e madre di Allegra) viveva a Firenze con una nipote d'età matura e che le due donne conservavano un carteggio epistolare fra i due poeti, escogitò un piano per insediarsi nella stessa dimora delle due signore e venire così a conoscenza dell'ambito tesoro.

Henry James ambienta la vicenda nella bella cornice di Venezia, città che ben conosceva : "ogni cosa era avvolta nel fulgore dorato di Venezia", col rumore del "tuffo dei remi che nei canali stretti si faceva più sonoro e più liquido musicalmente".
I personaggi rilevanti sono tre: l'Io narrante (ammiratore del poeta Aspern, da tempo scomparso) e due attempate signorine: l'ultracentenaria un tempo amata dal letterato e la nipote cinquantenne.
Le due dame vivono "segregate in un vecchio palazzo" con delizioso giardino; "misteriose (...), riluttanti a chiedere favori e poco desiderose di ricevere attenzioni".
Ed è proprio in questa antica dimora che il nostro protagonista cerca di insinuarsi : ci riuscirà e potrà conoscere le leggendarie padrone di casa.
La vecchissima signora pare essere unica superstite di un tempo lontano di cui si colgono soltanto "meri echi, fantasmi e polvere". La sua parvenza è spettrale : "sugli occhi portava una orribile visiera verde che le serviva quasi da maschera" , "la testa avvolta in un vecchio pizzo nero" ; si direbbe un bel teschio rivestito ('ancora') di pelle.

La tensione narrativa per l'eventuale scoperta dell'ambito carteggio è quella del romanzo giallo. Ma qui c'è ben di più : una splendida prosa d'autore, una scrittura magnifica che indora di sé l'intero racconto. Un gioiello letterario forse inaspettato.

[Fernando · Rating 3 out of 5]

-¡Creo que sé cuáles son sus motivos!
-Yo diría que sí, porque la otra noche casi le dije lo mucho que quería que usted me ayudara a lograrlos.
-Yo no puedo hacer eso sin engañar a mi tía.
-¿Qué quiere decir con engañar a su tía?
-Pues, ella jamás consentiría en darle lo que usted quiere.
Otros se lo han pedido, le han escrito. Es algo que la enfurece.
-Entonces, ¿tiene papeles valiosos?
-¡Ah, tiene de todo! –exclamó Miss Tina con un suspiro que curiosamente denotaba cansancio y un repentino tono sombrío.

Henry James es considerado uno de los mejores novelistas que dio la literatura. Un hombre extremadamente culto e inteligente que dedicó toda su vida a escribir novelas, cuentos, crítica literaria, biografías y ensayos.
La particularidad de este autor es que en dos aspectos de su vida vivió entre dos mundos: por un lado vivió y escribió tanto en el siglo XIX como en el XX, y por el otro dividió su carrera entre los Estados Unidos en la primera parte de su vida e Inglaterra en la segunda.
En cada uno de estos momentos y lugares de su vida dominó el arte de narrar con aplomo y distinción. Sus novelas siguen siendo aún muy leídas, sea “Otra vuelta de tuerca”, “Las bostonianas”, “Los europeos”, “Retrato de una dama” o esta corta novela, “Los papeles de Aspern”.
En total escribió doce novelas y sus cuentos ocupan doce tomos.
El caso de “Los papeles de Aspern” se reduce a una nouvelle de poco más de ciento treinta páginas cuyo principal objetivo es crear suspenso y obsesión por parte del narrador acerca de los papeles póstumos de un prestigioso poeta llamado Jeffrey Aspern.
Es que en realidad, James se inspiró en una historia que él mismo vivió mientras visitaba la ciudad italiana de Florencia en 1887, enterándose de una historia que contaba que una tal condesa de Gamba poseía importantes papeles que desacreditaban la mítica figura del eterno Lord Byron y que además aseguraba haber tenido relación con Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Montado en esta anécdota, el autor traslada la acción a Venecia (y no Florencia como originalmente había pensado) para poner en escena el intento del narrador de hacerse con los papeles de Jeffrey Aspern que están en manos de la anciana Juliana Bordereau.
Claro que para lograr esto deberá poner en práctica toda su astucia, teniendo que pactar y ceder en muchas cuestiones ante la anciana y su sobrina, Miss Tina Bordereau para hacerse del botín.
Lo que primeramente parece un plan no demasiado arriesgado va transformándose en una carrera de obstáculos y una serie de impedimentos que lo van alejando cada vez más de los codiciados documentos.
Sobre la última parte de la novela sucederán hechos que pondrán en riesgo el éxito del intento y para ello él deberá agotar todos los recursos posibles.
Lógicamente que para saber qué sucede realmente con los papeles de Jeffrey Aspern, hay que leer esta pequeña novela que posee además, la exquisito narrativa y buen gusto literario que Henry James poseía a la hora de contarnos una buena historia.

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Aspern Papers is a fictional story inspired by the letters Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Mary Shelley's stepsister, Claire Clairmont, who saved them until she died. (Source Wiki)

I find it interesting to observe what Henry James’ imagination has then invented. All the characters are fictional. He draws a story where two literary critics, believing that letters written by the famed but long-time deceased poet Jeffrey Aspern, are in the keeping of the poet’s former lover. They invent a plan to get their hands on them. The first critic writes a letter to the poet’s lover. He is rebuffed. They agree the second critic should go and visit the now very old lady. She is living in a huge, decrepit old mansion in Venice, with her niece. The mansion may be huge, but the two women are short of funds. Through deception, the second of the two critics, it is he who is the narrator of the story, sets himself up as boarder in the women’s residence. Will he get his hands on the letters before she dies? This is the gist of the story.

There is a surprising twist at the very end of the tale.

What makes the story interesting is one’s growing awareness of why the three characters, the boarder, the lover and her niece, do what they do. What motivates each? Memories of a past love affair and bygone days. Money--but for what purpose? Loneliness and the need for a companion. The thrill of possessing original documents written by a famed author, an author whose work you more than admire. And guilt—guilt pushes a person to do what had not been planned.

The audiobook is very well narrated by Adam Sims. The words spoken are clear and easy to follow. Four stars for the narration.

I like this, but do not love it. It’s easy to follow, but it drags in parts. It is the ending that makes the story worth reading. It is at the end the character’s motivations are made glaringly evident.

*****************

*The Turn of the Screw4 stars
*Washington Square 3 stars
*The Portrait of a Lady 3 stars
*The Aspern Papers 3 stars
*The Golden Bowl TBR

[Lynne King · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have very mixed feelings about this novella. I have never read any of Henry James’ books before but upon advice it was suggested that I start with one of his novellas. So I decided upon this book as there are only eighty pages and it seemed as good a place as ever to start.

I actually don’t like Venice as a place and so I’m sure I’ll be called a philistine. I went in the month of December, many years ago, with an aged aunt which did not auger well. It was windy, the pigeons in St Mark’s square were a real nuisance, and I felt under siege; we were ripped off in a restaurant next to the square (my fault entirely) and, if I recall, we unsuccessfully tried to see a particular painting of Caravaggio (I cannot remember which one in a chapel off the square). We were also ripped off by a gondolier who nearly dropped my Aunt into the foul-smelling canal!

So it’s combined with these thoughts that I had my first experience of Henry James’ writing. The backdrop of Venice seems to be far more enticing in this book than when I was exposed to it. The book is nevertheless slow in starting and I really don’t like having a narrator not knowing his age, and whose main aim in life is to acquire the papers by any possible means of a dead American poet called Jeffrey Aspern. Prior to his death, he had a relationship with Juliana Bordereau, an elderly woman now living in a dilapidated palazzo in Venice with her niece Tina and Aspern’s papers are supposedly with the former.

Well, the book begins to gain momentum when the narrator feels that the only way to attempt to obtain the papers is to become a lodger in Miss Bordereau’s palazzo. She turns out to be a wiley individual, who surprises our narrator by being money-oriented and manages to extract 1,000 francs a month for three months from the elusive lodger. He’s shocked by this large amount but decides to stay in the palazzo regardless. He in turn entices them with the prospect of a garden abundant with flowers, as Tina loved them, and in his efforts to further ingratiate himself with the pair, starts delivering the cut blooms to their apartment in the palazzo.

This book is about choice and intrigue more than anything and that is the amusing thread that permeates it. I kept on getting the feeling that each individual was trying to outdo the other and the most successful person being? Well that’s for the reader to find out.

In the midst of all of this, we see the rather bland middle-aged Tina, who appears to stay with her aunt because she has nowhere to go, but gradually there’s a perceptible change in her relationship with our frustrated lodger, who gets the odd warning signs from her but brushes them off. His greed for the papers is uppermost in his mind. Prior to coming to live in the palazzo he had told his friend Mrs Prest that he is prepared:

“To make love to the niece” and her reply:

“Ah, wait till you see her!”

And does he? Is his ambition so great to get his wish granted?

Another odd thought about the writing style is that there’s no description of the narrator. He’s basically a blank canvas, not much is really mentioned about Tina either but Juliana is given an air of mystery in that she wears a half veil that covers her eyes. When our narrator first sees her, she looks so old that he’s worried she may die before he has accomplished his task.

And we head on relentlessly to the end when the narrator who feels he’s getting nowhere to determining whether or not Juliana actually does have these papers, or has she in fact burnt them? Finally, he cannot stop himself from attempting to open the “secretary”, where he feels the papers are kept. And at this stage, there’s a completely unexpected event.

As for the twist at the end, well this is where the choice comes in but which way will our narrator go? How ambitious is he really?

Did I like this book? I have ambivalent feelings and so I will go middle of the road. I think, however, that I will try another of James’ books as he certainly has a mesmerizing writing style about him.

[None Ofyourbusiness Loves Israel · Rating 4 out of 5]

James’s 1888 novella smuggles a sly dilemma into a sun-faded Venetian frame. Its nameless narrator, all teeth and manners, sneaks his way into the lives of Juliana Bordereau and her niece Miss Tina, armed with nothing but false charm and a scholar’s greed. He wants the papers of the deceased American poet—Aspern’s private writings—and he’ll water houseplants or worm through keyholes if that’s the cost of admission.

"I had invoked him and he had come," our narrator admits about his fixation on the long-dead poet, revealing the almost supernatural power literary obsession holds over him.

His calculated approach begins with renting rooms in their crumbling palazzo under false pretenses: "I had taken Mrs. Prest's advice...offer them a generous sum for their house." What follows is a riveting ethical deterioration as our protagonist justifies increasingly dubious actions in pursuit of literary treasure.

The narrator courts Miss Tina's favor by cultivating their neglected garden while plotting to pillage her family's secrets: "I lingered for half an hour on the spot, partly because Miss Tina had asked me to and partly because I liked it." 

James gives us a collector who treats people like archives. Miss Tina, a shy puzzle piece in this echoing estate, becomes a sort of living doorknob: turned gently, then with force. Our paper-chaser, with his velvet gloves off, finally tips into full-on literary burglary—tiptoeing through rooms where ghosts still have squatter’s rights.

The slap comes not as a blow but as a line: “Ah, you publishing scoundrel!” Juliana doesn’t shout. She labels, neatly and without ceremony. After her death, the niece’s sudden offer of marriage is a trapdoor, sprung under the weight of implication. Does he want her, or will he pretend to?

James aims straight at the thirst for posthumous possession. The narrator’s need to "put his hand on them" is as base as it sounds. What looks like reverence curls back into appetite. The novella rejects the need of researchers and documentarians to uncover genius. Instead it claims the the real drive is about who gets to open the drawer, and what gets broken when they do.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1909, in his mid-60’s, Henry James destroyed many of his own personal papers, letters and photographs. 20 years earlier, he wrote this novella, inspired by the true story of the muse of a long dead but much-revered poet who still held some of the poet’s private papers, and explored the lengths a literary critic might go to obtain them.

James wrote about his inspiration in the Preface (included in my copy) from The Novels and Tales of Henry James: The Turn of the Screw, the Liar, the Two Faces:
“I saw it somehow at the very first blush as romantic … that Jane Clairmont, the half-sister of Mary Godwin, Shelley’s second wife and for a while the intimate friend of Byron and the mother of his daughter Allegra, should have been living on in Florence, where she had long lived, up to our own day, and in fact, that I happened to hear of her but a little sooner, I might have seen her in the flesh.”

That romantic impression he had permeates this story, which gently asks so many questions! What is the nature of obsession, and what should remain private, and how does our past impact our future?

It takes place in Venice, which becomes a character in itself: “See how it glows with the advancing summer; how the sky and the sea and the rosy air and the marble of the palaces all shimmer and melt together.”

And in this romantic setting, he gives us three unique people, and reveals so much about them in so few words.

An excellent display of Henry James’ literary powers, and a fascinating little gem of a novel.

“She said he was a god.’ Miss Tina gave me this information flatly, without expression; her tone might have made it a piece of trivial gossip. But it stirred me deeply as she dropped the words into the summer night; their sound might have been the light rustle of an old unfolded love-letter.”

[Paula Mota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um editor hospeda-se sob disfarce na mansão de duas americanas solteironas a viverem agora em Veneza, para se apoderar dos últimos manuscritos do poeta Jeffrey Aspern, agora na posse da sua envelhecida e eremita musa. Henry James nunca me desilude, com as suas histórias de final surpreendente e a sua escrita magistral, com frases que se encadeiam de forma intrincada e serpeante, sem que, ainda assim, se perca o raciocínio.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling, elegant, and dark.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novella by Henry James that studies obsession and the lengths to which a person will go to satisfy his curiosity about the life of another, The Aspern Papers, is grounded in a tidbit of history. The story takes place in Venice in the 19th Century, where a publisher/critic attempts to wrestle private letters from a very elderly lady who was once involved with a famous poet, Jeffrey Aspern. To this end, he finagles lodgings in the lady’s villa and attempts to enlist the aid of her niece in procuring the “papers”.

The tidbit of history would be that of Claire Clairmont, half-sister to Mary Shelley and perhaps Percy Bysshe Shelley’s lover. She was absolutely the lover of Lord Byron, and bore him a daughter who only survived to the age of five. It is easy to imagine what her letters and memorabilia would have meant to those interested in these men, but she was close and shared very little with anyone who might take it public.

Knowing The Aspern Papers’ crotchety old grand dame is based on a real person made it somewhat sadder to me. I wondered if James felt empathy with Clairmont, since he would, himself, have known what it was to have others wish to pry too deeply into your personal life and memories. That he allows her to keep her secrets in the end would suggest to me that he at least felt she was right in guarding them. On the other hand, he hardly made her an admirable or sympathetic character. In fact, you would find the interloper quite despicable were it not for the unpleasant character of his intended victim.

The Turn of the Screw has long been my favorite novella. There are depths to it that cause me to revisit it over and over again. The Aspern Papers is of the same quality, if less complex, and I can see that James is a master at tapping the internal struggles of human beings. To fully understand and appreciate this work, you must study each of the three main characters, what motivates them and what they are willing to do to have the thing they want.

Edith Wharton, a master of the human condition herself, considered Henry James to be the finest writer she had ever met. Who am I to argue with such an informed opinion?

I am planning a read of The Wings of the Dove in September, and looking forward to more Henry James, an author I have obviously neglected for far too long.

[Stephen P(who no longer can participate due to illness) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though written eight years before James’ Figure in the Carpet, The Aspern Papers is a more sophisticated, richer work. Here James has set himself a larger stage in which to develop characters grown out of the intrigue of the tale. While reading I felt the stage growing, as though James was keeping up with the narration as it was told. The punctiliousness of his style set the perfect distance within which to watch the characters and to live with them. Here, the tension was strung with a fine thread waiting to engross a reader’s mind.

Mine was engrossed. I needed to find out what was going to happen with these people, with the problem about where the Aspern Papers were, would end up. We have an idea from the beginning from our narrator where they might reside. The poet of the papers is to our journalist more than icon, residing within him as a form of a god. But it is not forgotten that beyond the literary ethereal existence residing in the treasure trove of letters there also awaits fame and a banquet of money.

James has found the perfect setting, or it has found him, of early century Venice, its winding canals, the magical transport of oared gondolas, an old palatial home, itself wearing down under the weight of passing years. Locked within are the ancient aunt and the elderly niece who live an existence that does not include their leaving their sanctuary or allowing others in.

This is a world that exists within itself. James leaves us no choice but to carry it inside us, be affected by it, with its parables of greed and yearnings, of the suffocation of loss. This is a work of art so be careful.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published in 1888, this short novel reads like a contemporary mystery or thriller. James' prose is beautiful and complex like many of his peers of the day, but does not feel as weighted down. In fact, the use of candles and other time indicators aside, one could easily convince me Aspern was recently written by one of today's better writers. To be sure, James writes suspense and surprise endings as well as any genre author. If you've read Turn of the Screw, this won't come as a surprise. All told, if you are a genre reader who is looking to introduce classic literature into your reading, you could do worse than to start here. Also, literature readers looking for a quick beach read that will still make you look more erudite than Sidney Sheldon, Henry James' Aspern Papers might fit the bill.

[Davide · Rating 4 out of 5]

Misurare la grandezza

Questo breve aureo romanzo - tra i collaboratori internazionali alla costruzione del grande mito di Venezia - è incentrato sul tentativo di entrare in possesso delle carte del grande poeta Jeffrey Aspern, conservate da un’antica fiamma, Miss Bordereau, ora anziana, cinica e venale, operato da un critico-veneratore, che parla in prima persona, senza impedire, però, che il lettore percepisca i suoi difetti.

La manovra di avvicinamento contempla grande spesa di tempo e denaro, e prevede anche una forma di seduzione dell’attempata nipote Miss Tina. Ma tutto si deve tentare per accostarsi personalmente all’arte e agli oggetti raggiunti dall’aura dell’artista!

Ricordo quanto mi piacevano i dialoghi-schermaglie tra il critico e l’anziana signora; in particolare quello, ambiguo, in cui lei dichiara il suo odio per la critica e lui difende il ruolo di chi cerca di fare luce intorno ai grandi filosofi e poeti, quasi consapevole della funzione di - direbbe Bourdieu - “creazione del creatore”:
«What becomes of the work I just mentioned, that of the great philosophers and poets? It’s all vain words if there’s nothing to measure it by»
Con l’arguta risposta della vecchia: «You talk as if you were a tailor».

[Ben Loory · Rating 4 out of 5]

the more i read of henry james, the more i think he may be my favorite writer. it's weird, because he seems to be exactly all those things i most despise in writers-- he's long-winded, slow-moving, mostly humorless, always deeply embedded in real places, real people, real history, the real world-- really, i don't feel like i should like him at all! but then, somehow, underneath all of that, there is always in his writing a deep sense of mystery-- not just about the events in his stories, but about life itself, what it all is and means, and also-- maybe most importantly to me-- about this strange thing called storytelling he does so well. i can always feel him at the ends of his stories, sort of backing quietly away from the scene, looking at me as i digest the last lines, and smiling a little bit to himself. how did i do? he always seems to be saying. and then he's gone the second it sinks in.

i should probably add he's always wearing a white suit.

kinda like colonel sanders.

[Post Scriptum · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Furfante di uno scrittorucolo!”


La gondola scivola pigramente lungo il Canal Grande, nell’abbraccio molle e indefinibile di un’estiva notte veneziana. Non lontano c’è il palazzo grigio e rosa, un tempo certamente splendido, residenza delle signorine Bordereau: l’ultracentenaria Juliana, che fu amante e musa ispiratrice del poeta Jeffrey Aspern, e la non più giovane nipote Tina. Pare che in casa sia conservato il carteggio amoroso fra Juliana e il poeta. Quivi giunge il protagonista, critico letterario, studioso e grande estimatore di Aspern, nonché voce narrante, disposto a tutto pur di prendere possesso dell’epistolario. Riuscirà a guadagnarsi la simpatia di Tina, a farsi ammettere in casa Bordereau. Si presenterà sotto falso nome, si offrirà di pagare qualsiasi cifra pur di avere qualche stanza del palazzo in affitto. Poi inizierà il suo lavoro diabolico e sottile.

Da una parte pare si cerchi un accordo in nome dell’arte, dall’altro in quello dell’amore. Ma a ben guardare, è solo questione di profitto personale.
E il prezzo, come sempre in questi casi, è davvero alto.

[Bill on GR Sabbatical · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nameless narrator, a writer, travels to Venice with hopes of obtaining a trove of papers of the late, great poet Jeffrey Aspern, which he and a colleague hope to publish. They are in the possession of Juliana Bordereau, an elderly former lover of Aspern, who has spurned an earlier inquiry about them by the narrator's colleague.

Aware of Miss Bordereau's prickliness about the papers, the narrator mounts a complicated campaign to engage with her and the niece who attends her, Miss Tita, over the course of a summer. That he is unencumbered by an overdeveloped conscience is evident from the start, as he presents a false identity to avoid association with his colleague's failed effort.

I enjoyed this novella, my introduction to James, with its beautiful descriptions of Venice and the twist the story takes at the end, and hope to read more of James's work.

The LibriVox audiobook, read by Nicholas Clifford, was excellent. I was sad to find that Dr. Clifford, reader of many LibriVox audiobooks and an eminent scholar and teacher of East Asian studies, died last year.

[Ivana Books Are Magic · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Aspern Papers is a little gem of a book. Its plot is simple enough at first. An unnamed narrator sets to Venice, to find a woman who possibly still has love letters from a famous writer. The unnamed narrator is after those private letters and he feels justified in his quest- for he does it for the love of literature. However, where does the literature begin and the private life ends? Now, I'm pretty sure I had read this novella before I knew about the plot being based on the letters Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Mary Shelley's (his wife's!) stepsister, Claire. Miss Claire Clairmont kept them until she died and so did (it seems) the lady this novella introduces us with. Whether she will be willing to share them is altogether another matter!

This is a wonderful novella, that deals with (among other things) a very contemporary theme- issue of privacy. It is filled with suspense up to the very last page. The author ability to create suspense is quite impressive, but he does not stop at that as his writing is so much more then creating anxiety and uncertainty. Henry James writing is as beautiful and complex in this novella as it is in his novels.

Henry James fascinates me as a writer and this is why- I always feel that there is this ambiguity to his writing. At times I feel it to be both attractive and repulsive. It is as if there is some message that can never be fully grasped no matter how much you try. I admire the fact that here is a writer that does not try to simplify the world, that is not afraid to admit that we live in a complex reality.

Henry James' sophistication as a writer is worth praise, his style is elegant and his finesse seducing. However, I have to admit that sometimes I struggle with his writing. There is this feeling of expecting something and not finding it...yet that is what is fascinating about his writing, it's like a painting that is hard to decipher, and that perhaps portrays more then one reality.

The writer himself supposedly treasured this book, I have to agree with him, it is a beautiful and delicate piece of writing. As a said, I found the theme to relevant and fascinating. The protagonist is a man in search of love letters written by his favourite poet. He is in for some trouble since the object of love letters in question is advanced in years and she not willing to part from them for the world.

The novel makes me think about an interesting questions about human nature- why do we feel right to take what we want? Why do we feel that if we love something or somebody that thing or person must belong to us? Why do we feel we have right to have something just if we happen to want that? Why is love such a good justification for selfish acts? I remember this feeling of guilt I always have when I read Kafka's private letters- and I absolutely cannot help myself? Where is the line? Should we sometimes leave the artist alone. All in all, this book posses some really interesting questions. Moreover, the characters are well developed. The plot is well executed and the writing is beautiful. I definitely recommend it. A must read for a Henry James fan.

[Sketchbook · Rating 5 out of 5]

To get what you want, would you pay a price -- or bolt?

James handles the sexuality very sedately, as expected. But it's compelling nonetheless. And sex is a metaphor for Anything. Classic. I've now read 3xs.

[Yani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry James es uno de mis autores favoritos, pero la relación es complicada. Por un lado, lo amo porque convierte argumentos que parecen ser simples (sean realistas o no) en una historia de suspenso. Por el otro, lo odio por sus finales y porque siempre hay algo que no nos cuenta, algo que subyace a las palabras o se escapa entre ellas. Tengo más razones, pero estas le conciernen a la novela en cuestión. Los papeles de Aspern intriga, a pesar de que gire demasiado sobre un mismo eje (para mi gusto, lo agota) y sea predecible. No merece menos de un 3.5.

Un crítico literario sin nombre va tras los pasos de un poeta llamado Jeffrey Aspern. Consciente de que la mujer que inspiró su obra está viva y que posee cartas del escritor (aunque ella lo niegue), el protagonista toma una identidad y se vuelve huésped en la casa de dicha señora. Juliana y Tita Bordereau (tía y sobrina, respectivamente) viven en Venecia y no mantienen relaciones sociales, hecho que dificulta el pedido de los papeles tan deseados ¿Existieron o todavía existen? En este último de los casos, ¿habrá alguna forma ética de conseguirlos?

La trama, en parte, nos muestra a un crítico desesperado por unas cartas que está dispuesto a publicar. La otra parte se basa en las Bordereau, dos personajes que me encantaron porque son un misterio en sí mismos. Juliana es una anciana codiciosa que habla poco, que oculta sus ojos con un velo, además de hacer lo mismo con su pasado. Las interacciones con el crítico son imperdibles, ya que James tiene una manera muy distintiva de resolver los diálogos. Y Tita es una muchacha ingenua, encerrada en una casa grande demasiado opresiva. Llegué a sentir lástima por ella. Casi desde el principio, los intereses de los personajes se hacen demasiado evidentes porque ellos mismos se encargan de explicitarlos. Por eso me quejé en los status: tuve la sensación de que empecé a predecir ciertas cosas antes de tiempo. No diré si las anticipaciones se cumplieron o no, así que no haré comentarios generales sobre el final.

Esta novela corta me pareció una de las más sencillas del autor. James adora las oraciones infinitas (aclaro que es una exageración: no llega al extremo de William Faulkner) y dar por entendidas algunas cosas, pero aquí fue bastante benévolo. Simplemente, este narrador en primera persona me resultó más fresco y más llevadero, a pesar de que tenga impregnada la personalidad un tanto repelente del protagonista. También me gustaron las fugaces (y no por eso menos intensas) descripciones de Venecia, un marco fantástico para esta historia que oscila entre ser una aventura de investigación del crítico y un relato de suspenso que lo involucra directamente.

En este momento no consideraría que este es el texto más brillante que leí del autor (dado que me faltan unos cuantos, no afirmo nada) y, sin embargo, creo que es una buena opción para empezar a leerlo. Los papeles de Aspern es un libro ligero y retiene la atención del lector, mucho más si la temática lo toca de cerca.

[Athanasia ♥︎ · Rating 1 out of 5]

yeah... nope.. the fact that I will never get back these 4 hours I spent or should I say wasted reading this is depressing!

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐ Con evidenza Venezia è il mio punto debole, quando un libro è ambientato qui sono sempre rapita nelle pagine, aggiungo la maestria di James nel costruire con pochi tratti un mondo letterario evocativo e ricco di suggestioni.

[Sinem A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Villa Matas
ın Bartleby cemiyetinde gezinirken Brodsky nin Venedik i karşıma çıkınca cemiyete ara verip Venedik'de gezinmeye başladım ve Henry Jamesin Aspern in Mektuplarına vardım. Brodsky nin Venedik üzerine yazdıkları beni o kadar etkikedi ki bir kitapla çıkamadım bu şehirden. Tam da seyehat edemediğim dönemde harika bir seyahat imkanı verdi.
Caanım Henry James zaten Bir Kadının Portresi ile hayranlık duymama sebep olmuştu. Bu defa Venedik fonunda vukuu bulan ve Lord Byron un sevgilisinin yaşadığı gerçek olaylardan yola çıkarak kurguladığı kısa romanında, adını gizli tutan kahramanımızın Jeffrey Aspern in aşkı Mrs Bordeau nun elindeki mektuplara ulaşmak için atıldığı macerayı anlatıyor herzamanki yoğun diliyle.
Bir yazara duyulan tutkunun insana neler yaptırıp neler yaptıramayacağını kanallar evler odalar ve bahçeler üzerinden izliyoruz tam bir tiyatro sahnesi gibi..

[Sue K H · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do you do it Henry James? How do you draw me  into a book with all of the characters being creepy and unlovable? Since you're not here, I'll answer:

1. You create a vivid scene that allows me to be a fly on the wall watching the action.
2. You use a cool setting like Venice that lends itself to mystery.
3. You create perfect
sentences that even when long, comfortably lull me in.
4. You hold back, leaving a shroud of haunting mystery around the characters.

As it says in the book blurb, this story was inspired by a real one, but the real one couldn't be this good because Henry James is the secret sauce.  In this story the unnamed narrator is an editor for a once obscure but currently appreciated poet, Jeffery Aspern, who he likens to a god.   When he finds out Aspern's lover is still alive, he becomes obsessed with obtaining his private papers from her. With the encouragement of his lady friend, Mrs. Prest who knows the lover's location and circumstances he is able to come up with a way in.  He decides to gain her confidence by becoming her boarder under an assumed name, and flirting with her niece.  He justifies to himself:

"I can arrive at the papers only by putting her off her guard, and I can put her off her guard only by ingratiating diplomatic practices. Hypocrisy, duplicity are my only chance. I am sorry for it, but for Jeffrey Aspern's sake I would do worse still."

Juliana Bordereua and her niece, Miss Tita live in obscurity in a large, mostly empty dilapidated old home on a quiet canal.  They are thought to be witches by some.   Our narrator plays up their garden as why he must live there.  The niece agrees to ask her Aunt and he comes back the next day to meet with her.  

"Her presence seemed somehow to contain his, and I felt nearer to him at that first moment of seeing her than I ever had been before or ever have been since. Yes, I remember my emotions in their order, even including a curious little tremor that took me when I saw that the niece was not there. With her, the day before, I had become sufficiently familiar, but it almost exceeded my courage (much as I had longed for the event) to be left alone with such a terrible relic as the aunt. She was too strange, too literally resurgent. Then came a check, with the perception that we were not really face to face, inasmuch as she had over her eyes a horrible green shade which, for her, served almost as a mask. I believed for the instant that she had put it on expressly, so that from underneath it she might scrutinize me without being scrutinized herself"

And thus begins the cat and mouse game, but who is the cat? All three are secretive with each other and James leaves us wondering how each became the way they are which adds to their mystique and keeps us guessing how far each will go. 

I was entranced from beginning to end.  This little novella carries a lot of weight as James also has a theme of the Old World vs the New World running through.  Which one is more creepy?  You decide.  

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dark novella with an unnamed narrator obsessed with the work of a romantic poet called Aspern. Rumours of papers being held by the poets muse, Juliana lead the narrator to Venice where he smooth talks his way into renting a floor of the rundown palazzo where elderly frail Juliana and her spinster niece Tita live. All three of the characters are unlikeable especially the narrator who seems to think that his right to see the personal papers of his favourite writer is more important than any other consideration. But the two women aren’t victims, they seem to be suspicious of the narrators motives from the start. James based Juliana on Claire Clairmont, and letters she had from Shelley but I thought more about Byron as I was reading and how his memoirs were burnt by his friends and family after his death.