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The Aspern Papers and Other Tales
This volume gathers seven of the very best of Henry James's short stories, all focussing the relationship between art and life. In 'The Aspern Papers', a critic is determined to get his hands on a great poet's papers hidden in a faded Venetian house - not matter 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' both explore the tension between artistic and commercial success. These fables of the creative life reveal James at his ironic, provocative best.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1894
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362 people want to read
About the author
Henry James
4,557 books3,943 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 - 30 of 58 reviews
May 29, 2021
All the stories in this collection address a subject that has become more topical with time - the urge to delve into the private lives of celebrities. James' celebrities are mostly writers with one story featuring instead a painter. In every story the narrator is endeavouring to enter the private life of a revered artist. On the premise that to know more about the maker would be to understand the art better. As if an artist's inspirations will always be ciphered into his private life. The rigidly compartmentalised James doesn't believe this for a moment. In fact every story is a kind of parable of what a misleading notion this is. None of his budding detectives emerge unscathed. James argues this act of snooping, of seeking more than is readily given, acts not so much as a magnifying glass on the art as frosted glass, distorting what it reveals. He would have loved quantum theory and Roland Barthes. The most fascinating trick of obsessive fandom - the self-aggrandising prestige people often seek to steal through sidling up to celebrities - he only touches on.
I realised while reading these stories that lots of my favourite writers relished the romance of being a writer. Woolf, Mansfield, Fitzgerald, Shelley, Byron. They were the rock stars of their day. And my love of them has been enhanced by knowing about their private lives. On the other hand there is the more private self-effacing kind of writer - Austen, Nabokov, Spark, DeLillo and James himself. The prefaces Henry James wrote to his novels, supposedly written to shed light, are often like little comedies of mischievous obfuscation. In his novels he often makes it as hard to understand what he means as he can. Personally I don't share Henry James' distaste for intimate biographical detail. Though I'd agree that how much this contributes to our understanding of the artist's work is probably minimal. Elena Ferrante drew attention in the limelight to the anonymity of the artist with regards her art. Hiding her identity to the point where some even believed she might be a man. Did it matter with regards our understanding of her work. Not at all. So Henry James is right. But is our desire to know who she is unhealthy? I don't think so. I know if someone I knew possessed a secret stash of Katherine Mansfield's letters I'd go to great lengths to sneak a peek at them. So I'd be one of Henry James' morbid misguided snoopers. Curiosity might kill the cat but it's no less inspiring to the archaeologist, the astronomer and the lover than it is to the fan.
I realised while reading these stories that lots of my favourite writers relished the romance of being a writer. Woolf, Mansfield, Fitzgerald, Shelley, Byron. They were the rock stars of their day. And my love of them has been enhanced by knowing about their private lives. On the other hand there is the more private self-effacing kind of writer - Austen, Nabokov, Spark, DeLillo and James himself. The prefaces Henry James wrote to his novels, supposedly written to shed light, are often like little comedies of mischievous obfuscation. In his novels he often makes it as hard to understand what he means as he can. Personally I don't share Henry James' distaste for intimate biographical detail. Though I'd agree that how much this contributes to our understanding of the artist's work is probably minimal. Elena Ferrante drew attention in the limelight to the anonymity of the artist with regards her art. Hiding her identity to the point where some even believed she might be a man. Did it matter with regards our understanding of her work. Not at all. So Henry James is right. But is our desire to know who she is unhealthy? I don't think so. I know if someone I knew possessed a secret stash of Katherine Mansfield's letters I'd go to great lengths to sneak a peek at them. So I'd be one of Henry James' morbid misguided snoopers. Curiosity might kill the cat but it's no less inspiring to the archaeologist, the astronomer and the lover than it is to the fan.
November 3, 2015
Though others may have more sanguine ideas about Venice, my first visceral response when I think of the city is one of creepiness. I guess this is informed by my viewing the Nicolas Roeg direction of the Daphne du Maurier story "Don't Look Now" over thirty years ago. A subsequent reading of the story itself didn't dispel that impression of course, though it cleared up some of the confusion rendered by the flawed copy of the film projected on the movie screen. Many years later I read The Comfort of Strangers and though the setting is unnamed, the Venetian creepiness factor is even more chilling due to its relative realism. Even here, in the title novella, serene walks to the Piazza and sunlit gondola rides cannot trump the dark sala in a cavernous house inhabited by an ancient woman.
All four of the stories deal with a writer and his relationship to his public, usually represented in one individual. The prose of each is not dense, certainly not as dense as we think of when we think of Henry James. If anything, the prefaces he wrote for later editions of these works, included in this slim volume, are much more dense, and ambiguous enough to make your eyes glaze over. But the stories themselves are rather straightforward, and humorous too, believe it or not.
All four of the stories deal with a writer and his relationship to his public, usually represented in one individual. The prose of each is not dense, certainly not as dense as we think of when we think of Henry James. If anything, the prefaces he wrote for later editions of these works, included in this slim volume, are much more dense, and ambiguous enough to make your eyes glaze over. But the stories themselves are rather straightforward, and humorous too, believe it or not.
April 16, 2020
I need to write a review, but it is the first Henry James I’ve ever read and I am totally converted. Such an artistry and psychological insight! And suspense as well- superb.
July 18, 2021
How can any collection that includes The Aspern Papers, The Figure in the Carpet, and “The Real Thing” get less than 5 stars? Each of these three and other “tales” in this book vary in length, from a gem of the short story “The Real Thing” to the masterful novella I’ve re-read with delight, The Aspern Papers, to an in-between form which he called nouvelle (not necessarily what is meant by ‘novella’ nowadays), The Figure in the Carpet. Unlike the Oxford World's Classics edition with the similar title (and four, instead of seven, slightly different selections but mistakenly listed as an alternative edition to Penguin on GR), this Penguin edition reproduces the text as originally published rather than from James’ later revisions.
The more I read James in the roughly chronological order of his “periods”, the more I am convinced it’s the approach that works best for a novice like myself when I started this year of reading James. Two themes predominate in his writings, the so-called “international theme” contrasting Europeans and Americans (including their Europeanized variety) and the world of arts and literature, both in an artistic sense and as a commercialized business. This collection belongs to the latter and it's from his “middle” or transitional period in the late 1880s and 1890s. But nothing is simple with James and these themes are only on the surface, serving more as general settings for his penetrating queries into all kinds of dilemmas of life. And when adding on top of it the Jamesian ambiguities, his subtle twists, and the abundance of double entendres, it’s a pure pleasure and enlightening experience at the same time (even if the dilemmas are never fully resolved with the multitude of possible answers, for he wisely leaves them open to his readers).
On the whole, it seems to me that he is at his best in longer forms but still there are brilliant novellas and shorter pieces like the three I mentioned that were the highlights for me in this collection. The Lesson of the Master, which gave him his literary nickname, was another excellent read that I appreciated even more in my lingering afterthoughts, as well as a sad and beautifully written “The Middle Years,” both included in this collection. Am I ready for the late James? Perhaps… or perhaps not yet. I would love to stay longer with the brilliance of the likes of The Portrait of a Lady, The Spoils of Poynton, The Aspern Papers, “The Real Thing”…
The more I read James in the roughly chronological order of his “periods”, the more I am convinced it’s the approach that works best for a novice like myself when I started this year of reading James. Two themes predominate in his writings, the so-called “international theme” contrasting Europeans and Americans (including their Europeanized variety) and the world of arts and literature, both in an artistic sense and as a commercialized business. This collection belongs to the latter and it's from his “middle” or transitional period in the late 1880s and 1890s. But nothing is simple with James and these themes are only on the surface, serving more as general settings for his penetrating queries into all kinds of dilemmas of life. And when adding on top of it the Jamesian ambiguities, his subtle twists, and the abundance of double entendres, it’s a pure pleasure and enlightening experience at the same time (even if the dilemmas are never fully resolved with the multitude of possible answers, for he wisely leaves them open to his readers).
On the whole, it seems to me that he is at his best in longer forms but still there are brilliant novellas and shorter pieces like the three I mentioned that were the highlights for me in this collection. The Lesson of the Master, which gave him his literary nickname, was another excellent read that I appreciated even more in my lingering afterthoughts, as well as a sad and beautifully written “The Middle Years,” both included in this collection. Am I ready for the late James? Perhaps… or perhaps not yet. I would love to stay longer with the brilliance of the likes of The Portrait of a Lady, The Spoils of Poynton, The Aspern Papers, “The Real Thing”…
October 12, 2018
This new Oxford edition (2013) sites `The Aspern Papers' alongside some of James' other short fictions which are concerned with literary life, especially the relationships between author, texts, and critics.
Written between 1888-1896, the four stories collected here (`The Death of the Lion', `The Figure in the Carpet', `The Birthplace' as well as the eponymous novella) are contextualised well in Adrian Poole's introduction, and confront the nascent idea of the literary celebrity driven, in part, by the nineteenth-century growth of literary journals and popular journalism.
`The Aspern Papers' draws on images of Shelley/Byron, and a set of letters held by an American dead poet's muse/mistress, now nearing death. This story feels the closest to some of the themes that reverberate through James' novels, with gestures towards Milly Theale (The Wings of the Dove) in Miss Tina, but also draws on the classical idea of the Sibyl as mouthpiece of Apollo.
The other three stories are perhaps more savage and darkly funny in a satirical way than we might associate with James. Both 'The Death of the Lion' and 'The Figure in the Carpet' are concerned with a literary master and his journalistic critics, the latter tale poking fun at the search for an overriding code or key to unlock the ultimate author-directed meaning across an oeuvre. `The Birthplace' concerned with the fetishisation of Stratford-upon-Avon and the biographical myth of Shakespeare upheld by tourists who might never have read or heard a word of his writings feels particularly relevant today.
James is a notoriously difficult writer, especially in his `big' novels (The Golden Bowl, The Wings of the Dove): these short pieces are lighter, easier to read, and written in a far less dense style without the Latinate, multi-clause sentences that have defeated some readers. At the same time, however, they bypass some of the big themes and issues to which James keeps returning in the classic novels so may not serve as an ideal introduction to new readers who want a taster of what James is `about'. All the same, an accessible collection that showcases James' sense of humour and his droll depiction of certain participants in literary life.
Written between 1888-1896, the four stories collected here (`The Death of the Lion', `The Figure in the Carpet', `The Birthplace' as well as the eponymous novella) are contextualised well in Adrian Poole's introduction, and confront the nascent idea of the literary celebrity driven, in part, by the nineteenth-century growth of literary journals and popular journalism.
`The Aspern Papers' draws on images of Shelley/Byron, and a set of letters held by an American dead poet's muse/mistress, now nearing death. This story feels the closest to some of the themes that reverberate through James' novels, with gestures towards Milly Theale (The Wings of the Dove) in Miss Tina, but also draws on the classical idea of the Sibyl as mouthpiece of Apollo.
The other three stories are perhaps more savage and darkly funny in a satirical way than we might associate with James. Both 'The Death of the Lion' and 'The Figure in the Carpet' are concerned with a literary master and his journalistic critics, the latter tale poking fun at the search for an overriding code or key to unlock the ultimate author-directed meaning across an oeuvre. `The Birthplace' concerned with the fetishisation of Stratford-upon-Avon and the biographical myth of Shakespeare upheld by tourists who might never have read or heard a word of his writings feels particularly relevant today.
James is a notoriously difficult writer, especially in his `big' novels (The Golden Bowl, The Wings of the Dove): these short pieces are lighter, easier to read, and written in a far less dense style without the Latinate, multi-clause sentences that have defeated some readers. At the same time, however, they bypass some of the big themes and issues to which James keeps returning in the classic novels so may not serve as an ideal introduction to new readers who want a taster of what James is `about'. All the same, an accessible collection that showcases James' sense of humour and his droll depiction of certain participants in literary life.
August 15, 2021
metterci un mese a leggere un libro di ottanta pagine può voler dire varie cose:
attenzione fagocitata dal lavoro (possibile)
lettrice in via di rimbambimento rapido (molto possibile)
rapporto autore/lettrice non buono (certo).
Le tre cose non si escludono a vicenda, ma quella certa è - appunto - certa. Io ci ho provato, ho letto Il giro di vite (piaciuto pochissimo), adesso questo Carteggio (piaciuto poco), non mi va di provarne un altro per vedere se il mio gradimento procede con questo trend in vaga crescita.
Henry, facciamocene una ragione, non siamo fatti l'uno per l'altra (anche se alcune tue descrizioni di Venezia, molto lontane dalla oleografia, sono veramente belle).
attenzione fagocitata dal lavoro (possibile)
lettrice in via di rimbambimento rapido (molto possibile)
rapporto autore/lettrice non buono (certo).
Le tre cose non si escludono a vicenda, ma quella certa è - appunto - certa. Io ci ho provato, ho letto Il giro di vite (piaciuto pochissimo), adesso questo Carteggio (piaciuto poco), non mi va di provarne un altro per vedere se il mio gradimento procede con questo trend in vaga crescita.
Henry, facciamocene una ragione, non siamo fatti l'uno per l'altra (anche se alcune tue descrizioni di Venezia, molto lontane dalla oleografia, sono veramente belle).
December 14, 2025
Canaglia d'un pennaiolo!
La ridurranno in rovina, - mi disse prima di lasciare Venezia. - Le estorceranno tutto il suo patrimonio senza mostrarle un solo foglietto.
Non si può dire che il protagonista di questo breve racconto non fosse stato messo in guardia dalla sua amica, Signora Prest.
Henry James affida il racconto alla voce narrante di un critico letterario americano, studioso della vita e delle opere del defunto poeta Aspern. Il protagonista e narratore scoprirà che un prezioso carteggio del poeta si trova a Venezia, gelosamente custodito da Miss Juliana Bordereau, storica e ormai centenaria amante del poeta. Il fuoco sacro della scoperta letteraria condurrà quindi il protagonista nella Venezia di fine 800, affascinante quanto decadente.
L'intenzione dell'intellettuale è chiaramente quella di aggirare la vecchia e inquietante Juliana e la di lei nipote, assai meno sprovveduta di come si presenti, per carpire il prezioso carteggio. Sarà una partita giocata sull'impervio terreno delle reciproche strategie quella tra le due donne e il pennaiolo, come verrà apostrofato il critico letterario dall'anziana Singora. E qui mi taccio.
Non posso assolutamente rilevare se il protagonista riuscirà a entrare in possesso dell'agognato carteggio ma posso dire che la passione per quelle preziose lettere fungerà da avvitatore e che a rimanere in qualche modo avvinto dalla sua stessa ossessione sarà proprio il narratore.
E' con il senso di perdita che si confronteranno tutti i protagonisti di questo romanzo. Mi ha richiamato alla memoria i temi trattati ne Il ritratto di Dorian Gray: l'arte diventa specchio della corruttibile natura dell'uomo, il passato si rivela in forma di ossessione, così come la ricerca della bellezza.
Evidentemente sono solo mie congetture. Non ho infatti trovato commenti che pongano in relazione le due opere ma resta il fatto che Oscar Wilde pubblicò il suo romanzo a due anni di distanza dall'uscita del racconto di Henry James.
La ridurranno in rovina, - mi disse prima di lasciare Venezia. - Le estorceranno tutto il suo patrimonio senza mostrarle un solo foglietto.
Non si può dire che il protagonista di questo breve racconto non fosse stato messo in guardia dalla sua amica, Signora Prest.
Henry James affida il racconto alla voce narrante di un critico letterario americano, studioso della vita e delle opere del defunto poeta Aspern. Il protagonista e narratore scoprirà che un prezioso carteggio del poeta si trova a Venezia, gelosamente custodito da Miss Juliana Bordereau, storica e ormai centenaria amante del poeta. Il fuoco sacro della scoperta letteraria condurrà quindi il protagonista nella Venezia di fine 800, affascinante quanto decadente.
L'intenzione dell'intellettuale è chiaramente quella di aggirare la vecchia e inquietante Juliana e la di lei nipote, assai meno sprovveduta di come si presenti, per carpire il prezioso carteggio. Sarà una partita giocata sull'impervio terreno delle reciproche strategie quella tra le due donne e il pennaiolo, come verrà apostrofato il critico letterario dall'anziana Singora. E qui mi taccio.
Non posso assolutamente rilevare se il protagonista riuscirà a entrare in possesso dell'agognato carteggio ma posso dire che la passione per quelle preziose lettere fungerà da avvitatore e che a rimanere in qualche modo avvinto dalla sua stessa ossessione sarà proprio il narratore.
E' con il senso di perdita che si confronteranno tutti i protagonisti di questo romanzo. Mi ha richiamato alla memoria i temi trattati ne Il ritratto di Dorian Gray: l'arte diventa specchio della corruttibile natura dell'uomo, il passato si rivela in forma di ossessione, così come la ricerca della bellezza.
Evidentemente sono solo mie congetture. Non ho infatti trovato commenti che pongano in relazione le due opere ma resta il fatto che Oscar Wilde pubblicò il suo romanzo a due anni di distanza dall'uscita del racconto di Henry James.
April 9, 2019
It’s funny, James and I can never quite click. I always remain impressed with him, but I can never fall in love. Something about his style feels too mannered somehow (and this from someone who loves William Gass!). I don’t know. But these were good, and well worth reading
October 29, 2023
Il vero accadimento è la Scrittura.
I veri protagonisti nella scrittura si Henry James sono le elucubrazioni mentali, i pensieri ossessivi, che di rado, anche nello svolgimento e nello sciogliersi del racconto, portano a una risoluzione finale. In James c’è una suspence continua e circolare che ti tiene attaccato al libro e non riesci a spiegarti il perché, e mentre hai paura non sai bene di cosa, spesso sorridi e ti inebri della bellezza della sua scrittura.
In H. James nessuna soluzione è certa.
In James la parola “fine” accende tutta una serie di inestricabili possibilità del “come avrebbe potuto essere altrimenti” la storia e il destino dei personaggi, e allo stesso tempo, il senso di inevitabilità delle cose, cinicamente piomba su noi e ci costringe a prenderne atto. Il mistero (un mistero che finisce per non esistere…) è compresente all’inevitabilità.
Troviamo nei racconti di James, continue ambiguità dei comportamenti, perché ogni frase di Henry James è un enigma che reitera lo strano inaccessibile comportamento dei personaggi.
In James ci sono sempre rebus da risolvere, minimi particolari che tolgono il fiato e che mettono all’erta il lettore su una possibile catastrofe imminente, che sia reale o supposta. Le continue reticenze dei personaggi aumentano il mistero, in un dialogo sempre fatto di pause, allusioni, inganni, che portano il protagonista del racconto a pensieri ossessivi e a strategie mentali e messe in atto per venirne fuori: spesso inutilmente.
La chiave di lettura è sempre lì lì per mostrarsi e ritornare di nuovo indietro sulle prime suggestioni ricevute. La bellezza della prosa è tipica della narrativa inglese, qui un americano di cultura inglese e europea (penserei a Maugham, un inglese così sapiente per la bellezza della sua prosa… e questo anche al di là della storia raccontata in sé, come in James del resto … è l’enigma del vivere che fa da protagonista…).
Chi è e chi rappresenta la vecchia enigmatica e inquietante signora del “Carteggio Aspern” (1888) messasi in clausura con la nipote in un misterioso palazzo Veneziano, e che conserva gelosamente un prezioso e inedito carteggio epistolare che fa gola a un critico letterario? A cosa porterà l’avidità del protagonista ? Dove il bene e dove il male ? Esiste una reale conclusione rispetto alle speranze proiettate sugli altri da parte del protagonista narrante?
Il punto è: di cosa parla davvero questo racconto di H. James?
E chi è Daisy Miller (1878) ? Una “furba bricconcella” ? Una ragazza americana socialmente incolta e ingenua rispetto alle usanze della vecchia Europa? Una donna dai modi liberi rispetto al ricatto delle convenzioni sociali? Semplicemente una che non sa stare al mondo?
Forse una femminista ante litteram da meritare così l’inevitabile “punizione”, come A. Karenina, e come M. Bovary e tante altre eroine ottocentesche ? …
Se ti ribelli di punto in bianco alle convenzioni della società in cui vivi allora poi la fine è nota, sei un reietto e non hai scampo (ciò mi ricorda situazioni ricorrenti dei romanzi di Simenon). Certi dialoghi in Daisy Miller mi hanno trasversalmente ricordato gli ironici dialoghi in Jane Austen ma anche sorprendentemente gli enigmatici dialoghi in Salinger …
A quali conclusioni porterà (nel racconto “Diario di un uomo di cinquanta anni”- 1879) il rivivere le forti emozioni di un tempo, da parte di un londinese che torna a Firenze dove visse il suo primo e più grande amore ?
In James il disinganno è sempre in agguato, e la coscienza di sé e degli altri è sempre alle prese con la possibilità che tutte le nostre certezze siano vane, che una verità dei fatti non abbia nessun fondamento, che ogni nostro sguardo non sia reale ma interiore.
James è l’unico scrittore che sa tenere in preda all’orrore i propri personaggi e noi che leggiamo, e solo a causa di minuti fatti di vita quotidiana senza importanza.
Nei racconti di H. James di “reale” non accade nulla… il vero accadimento è la scrittura stessa.
I veri protagonisti nella scrittura si Henry James sono le elucubrazioni mentali, i pensieri ossessivi, che di rado, anche nello svolgimento e nello sciogliersi del racconto, portano a una risoluzione finale. In James c’è una suspence continua e circolare che ti tiene attaccato al libro e non riesci a spiegarti il perché, e mentre hai paura non sai bene di cosa, spesso sorridi e ti inebri della bellezza della sua scrittura.
In H. James nessuna soluzione è certa.
In James la parola “fine” accende tutta una serie di inestricabili possibilità del “come avrebbe potuto essere altrimenti” la storia e il destino dei personaggi, e allo stesso tempo, il senso di inevitabilità delle cose, cinicamente piomba su noi e ci costringe a prenderne atto. Il mistero (un mistero che finisce per non esistere…) è compresente all’inevitabilità.
Troviamo nei racconti di James, continue ambiguità dei comportamenti, perché ogni frase di Henry James è un enigma che reitera lo strano inaccessibile comportamento dei personaggi.
In James ci sono sempre rebus da risolvere, minimi particolari che tolgono il fiato e che mettono all’erta il lettore su una possibile catastrofe imminente, che sia reale o supposta. Le continue reticenze dei personaggi aumentano il mistero, in un dialogo sempre fatto di pause, allusioni, inganni, che portano il protagonista del racconto a pensieri ossessivi e a strategie mentali e messe in atto per venirne fuori: spesso inutilmente.
La chiave di lettura è sempre lì lì per mostrarsi e ritornare di nuovo indietro sulle prime suggestioni ricevute. La bellezza della prosa è tipica della narrativa inglese, qui un americano di cultura inglese e europea (penserei a Maugham, un inglese così sapiente per la bellezza della sua prosa… e questo anche al di là della storia raccontata in sé, come in James del resto … è l’enigma del vivere che fa da protagonista…).
Chi è e chi rappresenta la vecchia enigmatica e inquietante signora del “Carteggio Aspern” (1888) messasi in clausura con la nipote in un misterioso palazzo Veneziano, e che conserva gelosamente un prezioso e inedito carteggio epistolare che fa gola a un critico letterario? A cosa porterà l’avidità del protagonista ? Dove il bene e dove il male ? Esiste una reale conclusione rispetto alle speranze proiettate sugli altri da parte del protagonista narrante?
Il punto è: di cosa parla davvero questo racconto di H. James?
E chi è Daisy Miller (1878) ? Una “furba bricconcella” ? Una ragazza americana socialmente incolta e ingenua rispetto alle usanze della vecchia Europa? Una donna dai modi liberi rispetto al ricatto delle convenzioni sociali? Semplicemente una che non sa stare al mondo?
Forse una femminista ante litteram da meritare così l’inevitabile “punizione”, come A. Karenina, e come M. Bovary e tante altre eroine ottocentesche ? …
Se ti ribelli di punto in bianco alle convenzioni della società in cui vivi allora poi la fine è nota, sei un reietto e non hai scampo (ciò mi ricorda situazioni ricorrenti dei romanzi di Simenon). Certi dialoghi in Daisy Miller mi hanno trasversalmente ricordato gli ironici dialoghi in Jane Austen ma anche sorprendentemente gli enigmatici dialoghi in Salinger …
A quali conclusioni porterà (nel racconto “Diario di un uomo di cinquanta anni”- 1879) il rivivere le forti emozioni di un tempo, da parte di un londinese che torna a Firenze dove visse il suo primo e più grande amore ?
In James il disinganno è sempre in agguato, e la coscienza di sé e degli altri è sempre alle prese con la possibilità che tutte le nostre certezze siano vane, che una verità dei fatti non abbia nessun fondamento, che ogni nostro sguardo non sia reale ma interiore.
James è l’unico scrittore che sa tenere in preda all’orrore i propri personaggi e noi che leggiamo, e solo a causa di minuti fatti di vita quotidiana senza importanza.
Nei racconti di H. James di “reale” non accade nulla… il vero accadimento è la scrittura stessa.
January 8, 2016
Every so often, I resolve to try to read Henry James: last time was about ten years ago, when I came across a copy of Italian Hours, which James' level of condescension towards Italy made me abandon after about 50 pages. Having been given this slim volume, I decided once again to see whether I could find any reason to pursue further into James' works.
The prose style didn't bother me, and the plot, in which the unnamed protagonist is bamboozled by two elderly ladies, is actually pretty funny. It's just that I reached the end of this short work with such a huge sense of relief, and with such a manifest disinclination to proceed to the other stories in this collection, that I'm pretty certain it will be another ten years or so until I feel the urge to pick up another of James' works.
The prose style didn't bother me, and the plot, in which the unnamed protagonist is bamboozled by two elderly ladies, is actually pretty funny. It's just that I reached the end of this short work with such a huge sense of relief, and with such a manifest disinclination to proceed to the other stories in this collection, that I'm pretty certain it will be another ten years or so until I feel the urge to pick up another of James' works.
November 17, 2025
3.5 stars for “The Aspern Papers”
June 17, 2014
Tre sono i racconti di Henry James raccolti in questo libro, accomunati dall’ambientazione italiana in cui si muovono personaggi quasi esclusivamente anglosassoni: Il carteggio Aspern a Venezia, Daisy Miller a Roma e Il diario di un uomo di cinquant’anni a Firenze.
A narrare la prima storia è un critico letterario da tempo sulle tracce di un fascio di carte (papers nell’edizione originale) scritte da un notissimo poeta americano, Jeffrey Aspern, vissuto in età napoleonica (una sorta di incrocio fra Byron e Shelley). Pare che le carte si trovino a Venezia, presso due signore americane, zia e nipote, che abitano in condizioni di indigenza un antico palazzo ormai fatiscente. Quali mezzi usare, possibilmente leciti, per strappare le carte alla più anziana, che secondo le voci più accreditate è una ex amante di Aspern? Miss Daisy Miller, protagonista del secondo racconto, è una giovane americana in vacanza in Europa con la propria famiglia: incontra a Vevey (nei pressi di Ginevra) il ventisettenne Winterbourne, uomo dedito allo studio, ma attratto dal carattere positivo e spensierato della fanciulla. I due si ritrovano a Roma dove Daisy sembra flirtare innocentemente con Giovanelli, un italiano ambiguo e sfuggente (come tutti i personaggi italiani presenti in questi racconti), trasgredendo le regole dell’etichetta e creando grave scandalo nella comunità americana. Il terzo racconto è invece giocato sul déjà vu e sul tema del doppio: soggiornando a Firenze da giovane, il protagonista, anche lui americano e innamorato dell’Italia, aveva intessuto con una contessa italiana una tempestosa relazione dall’esito fallimentare; oggi ritorna, da uomo ormai maturo e disincantato, nella città toscana. Qui scopre che un giovane inglese, in cui egli sembra ritrovarsi, si è invaghito della figlia della nobildonna amata dal protagonista, e sta percorrendo la stessa sua strada, apparentemente diretto verso la stessa cocente delusione.
Oltre all’ambientazione, i tre racconti condividono anche alcune tematiche. Prima di tutto il confronto, o più spesso il conflitto, tra la giovinezza e la maturità, tra la spensieratezza e l’irresponsabilità della prima e il rimpianto e la nostalgia della seconda, per niente mitigati dall’acquisizione di una saggezza che si rivela inconsistente e foriera di nuovi errori. C’è poi il tema del complicatissimo rapporto tra uomini e donne, impegnati in logoranti partite a scacchi, in cui un piccolo errore, una parola, uno sguardo, un cenno possono rivelarsi determinanti o fatali. In tutti e tre i racconti c’è una figura femminile, giovane o anziana, intorno alla quale ruota la vicenda narrata e che ne è il motore quasi immobile. Infine c’è l’incontro-scontro tra la vecchia Europa, sonnacchiosa e apparentemente inerte, carica di storia, arte e cultura, e il Nuovo Mondo, alfiere dell’innovazione, ma ancora ingenuamente vittima del fascino della prima.
Penso che l’ambientazione jamesiana produca un forte senso di estraniamento nel lettore contemporaneo: l’universo dei suoi racconti, inscenato con un’efficacissima cura per i particolari (dagli abiti al mobilio, dagli odori e colori della vegetazione agli edifici cittadini), è così differente dal mondo al quale siamo abituati oggi! Un universo fatto di lunghissimi soggiorni in paesi stranieri, di classi sociali rigidamente separate, di zie con l’emicrania, di chaperon e giardini ben curati, di cappelliere e ombrellini parasole, di balli in cui bisogna evitare di concedersi due volte allo stesso cavaliere, un mondo in cui le ragazze si chiamano “fanciulle” e possono intrattenersi con un estraneo soltanto in presenza di un parente, fosse anche un fratello più giovane. Se l’etichetta che regola i rapporti tra i sessi è profondamente differente da quella odierna, i sentimenti e le emozioni che animano i personaggi sono invece estremamente moderni, vividi e affascinanti anche per il lettore contemporaneo.
Soprattutto nel primo racconto James cerca di stemperare la tensione narrativa con l’uso di una finissima ironia: ovviamente il carteggio agognato dal critico è un delizioso MacGuffin che permette a James di distrarre il lettore quanto basta per condurlo dove vuole lui; nel contempo gli fa intuire cosa sta accadendo attraverso una serie di piccoli dettagli (il linguaggio dei fiori, ad esempio). Un’ironia più meditata e malinconica circonda invece il racconto del cinquantenne ritornato a Firenze (non a caso in forma di diario).
L’edizione Garzanti (collana i grandi libri) è molto elegante e curata: i tre racconti italiani sono preceduti da una bella introduzione di Franco Cordelli che inquadra l’autore e la sua poetica, da un profilo bibliografico e da una prefazione scritta da Gianna Lonza (che ha tradotto il testo originale in modo da conservare lo spirito e la lingua dell’epoca in cui fu scritto). La prefazione è da leggersi DOPO i racconti e sarebbe stato meglio fosse una postfazione, dato che svela ispirazioni, personaggi, trame e significati con dovizia di particolari. Dispiace infine notare che numerosi refusi siano sopravvissuti alla revisione delle bozze (“filofosi”, “un poca” etc.): non dovrebbe accadere in un’edizione altrimenti perfetta.
Consigliato a chi farebbe di tutto per impossessarsi di un manoscritto del proprio autore preferito.
Sconsigliato a chi cerca l’azione ad ogni costo.
A narrare la prima storia è un critico letterario da tempo sulle tracce di un fascio di carte (papers nell’edizione originale) scritte da un notissimo poeta americano, Jeffrey Aspern, vissuto in età napoleonica (una sorta di incrocio fra Byron e Shelley). Pare che le carte si trovino a Venezia, presso due signore americane, zia e nipote, che abitano in condizioni di indigenza un antico palazzo ormai fatiscente. Quali mezzi usare, possibilmente leciti, per strappare le carte alla più anziana, che secondo le voci più accreditate è una ex amante di Aspern? Miss Daisy Miller, protagonista del secondo racconto, è una giovane americana in vacanza in Europa con la propria famiglia: incontra a Vevey (nei pressi di Ginevra) il ventisettenne Winterbourne, uomo dedito allo studio, ma attratto dal carattere positivo e spensierato della fanciulla. I due si ritrovano a Roma dove Daisy sembra flirtare innocentemente con Giovanelli, un italiano ambiguo e sfuggente (come tutti i personaggi italiani presenti in questi racconti), trasgredendo le regole dell’etichetta e creando grave scandalo nella comunità americana. Il terzo racconto è invece giocato sul déjà vu e sul tema del doppio: soggiornando a Firenze da giovane, il protagonista, anche lui americano e innamorato dell’Italia, aveva intessuto con una contessa italiana una tempestosa relazione dall’esito fallimentare; oggi ritorna, da uomo ormai maturo e disincantato, nella città toscana. Qui scopre che un giovane inglese, in cui egli sembra ritrovarsi, si è invaghito della figlia della nobildonna amata dal protagonista, e sta percorrendo la stessa sua strada, apparentemente diretto verso la stessa cocente delusione.
Oltre all’ambientazione, i tre racconti condividono anche alcune tematiche. Prima di tutto il confronto, o più spesso il conflitto, tra la giovinezza e la maturità, tra la spensieratezza e l’irresponsabilità della prima e il rimpianto e la nostalgia della seconda, per niente mitigati dall’acquisizione di una saggezza che si rivela inconsistente e foriera di nuovi errori. C’è poi il tema del complicatissimo rapporto tra uomini e donne, impegnati in logoranti partite a scacchi, in cui un piccolo errore, una parola, uno sguardo, un cenno possono rivelarsi determinanti o fatali. In tutti e tre i racconti c’è una figura femminile, giovane o anziana, intorno alla quale ruota la vicenda narrata e che ne è il motore quasi immobile. Infine c’è l’incontro-scontro tra la vecchia Europa, sonnacchiosa e apparentemente inerte, carica di storia, arte e cultura, e il Nuovo Mondo, alfiere dell’innovazione, ma ancora ingenuamente vittima del fascino della prima.
Penso che l’ambientazione jamesiana produca un forte senso di estraniamento nel lettore contemporaneo: l’universo dei suoi racconti, inscenato con un’efficacissima cura per i particolari (dagli abiti al mobilio, dagli odori e colori della vegetazione agli edifici cittadini), è così differente dal mondo al quale siamo abituati oggi! Un universo fatto di lunghissimi soggiorni in paesi stranieri, di classi sociali rigidamente separate, di zie con l’emicrania, di chaperon e giardini ben curati, di cappelliere e ombrellini parasole, di balli in cui bisogna evitare di concedersi due volte allo stesso cavaliere, un mondo in cui le ragazze si chiamano “fanciulle” e possono intrattenersi con un estraneo soltanto in presenza di un parente, fosse anche un fratello più giovane. Se l’etichetta che regola i rapporti tra i sessi è profondamente differente da quella odierna, i sentimenti e le emozioni che animano i personaggi sono invece estremamente moderni, vividi e affascinanti anche per il lettore contemporaneo.
Soprattutto nel primo racconto James cerca di stemperare la tensione narrativa con l’uso di una finissima ironia: ovviamente il carteggio agognato dal critico è un delizioso MacGuffin che permette a James di distrarre il lettore quanto basta per condurlo dove vuole lui; nel contempo gli fa intuire cosa sta accadendo attraverso una serie di piccoli dettagli (il linguaggio dei fiori, ad esempio). Un’ironia più meditata e malinconica circonda invece il racconto del cinquantenne ritornato a Firenze (non a caso in forma di diario).
L’edizione Garzanti (collana i grandi libri) è molto elegante e curata: i tre racconti italiani sono preceduti da una bella introduzione di Franco Cordelli che inquadra l’autore e la sua poetica, da un profilo bibliografico e da una prefazione scritta da Gianna Lonza (che ha tradotto il testo originale in modo da conservare lo spirito e la lingua dell’epoca in cui fu scritto). La prefazione è da leggersi DOPO i racconti e sarebbe stato meglio fosse una postfazione, dato che svela ispirazioni, personaggi, trame e significati con dovizia di particolari. Dispiace infine notare che numerosi refusi siano sopravvissuti alla revisione delle bozze (“filofosi”, “un poca” etc.): non dovrebbe accadere in un’edizione altrimenti perfetta.
Consigliato a chi farebbe di tutto per impossessarsi di un manoscritto del proprio autore preferito.
Sconsigliato a chi cerca l’azione ad ogni costo.
July 3, 2025
There are a few excellent stories in this collection, but The Aspern Papers perfectly demonstrates why I read James: mysterious, complex female characters, innovative storytelling and a mastery of suspense.
April 19, 2024
The Aspern Papers is a beautiful short novel, set in Venice, with a cleverly twisting and turning plot. The characters are mostly playing roles or versions of themselves, so no one really knows where they stand. And the American poetry devotee seeking Mr. Aspern's papers -- actually love letters -- expends years and serious financial investment to try to get his hands on the prize.
not-finished
August 30, 2017Il carteggio Aspern ****
(gennaio 2014)
Letto pochi giorni prima di tornare per qualche giorno a Venezia, in gennaio; una volta lì, ad ogni sbuffo di rami da un alto muro era tutto un pensare Ecco, potrebbe esser quella la casa, perché no?, un tendere lo sguardo alle finestre in cerca delle misteriose signorine Bordereau, un ripetermi stupefatta Sì, davvero, questa non è una città ma un'unica grandissima dimora incantata, brulicante. Che meraviglia.
L'ambientazione mi ha evidentemente catturata più dell'ossessione letteraria che vi è narrata, anch'essa affascinante, sì, ma per quanto mi riguarda messa in ombra dallo splendore delle atmosfere.
~~~
Daisy Miller
(gennaio 2014)
Letto pochi giorni prima di tornare per qualche giorno a Venezia, in gennaio; una volta lì, ad ogni sbuffo di rami da un alto muro era tutto un pensare Ecco, potrebbe esser quella la casa, perché no?, un tendere lo sguardo alle finestre in cerca delle misteriose signorine Bordereau, un ripetermi stupefatta Sì, davvero, questa non è una città ma un'unica grandissima dimora incantata, brulicante. Che meraviglia.
L'ambientazione mi ha evidentemente catturata più dell'ossessione letteraria che vi è narrata, anch'essa affascinante, sì, ma per quanto mi riguarda messa in ombra dallo splendore delle atmosfere.
«... mi colpì la strana aria di socievole contiguità e di vita domestica, che rappresenta buona parte del fascino di Venezia. Senza strade e veicoli, senza il frastuono delle ruote e la brutalità dei cavalli, con le sue stradine tortuose dove la gente si raccoglie insieme, dove le voci risuonano come nei corridoi di una casa, dove il passo umano si muove quasi a scansare gli spigoli dei mobili e le scarpe non si consumano mai...»
~~~
Daisy Miller
February 8, 2020
This masterpiece by James is probably well known to most readers of this brief review. All I'm going to say, therefore, is that I was very impressed by James's ability to build tension/anticipation into his narrative. About half way through I began to read more continuously and perhaps even a bit hastily in my eagerness to find out whether the scoundrel who's trying to get his hands on the correspondence of a supposedly famous American author (Aspern) will acquire those papers. If you don't already know the answer, settle back and enjoy how things work out.
August 1, 2014
James' sometimes asphyxiating restraint as a plotter -- page after page of ever-so-polite "conversation" -- does make, on the other hand, for some glorious moments of (melo-)dramatic surprise, including the creepy conclusion to the title story. As meditations on writers and writerly celebrity all of these stories have strengths, especially "The Middle Years" and "The Death of the Lion." I found "The Private Life," though generally disparaged, both ridiculous and enjoyable, an almost-ghost story that seems to mock audience expectations of authorial persona at the same time that it mocks conventions of the ghost story (of which James was a writer). This Oxford edition includes a list of textual differences between the originals and the 1908 New York Editions. The textual differences make for interesting reading in their own right. They show how James, by minutely adjusting a few words or phrases, could change the entire tenor of a story.
August 15, 2007
Although I used to joke that this book and a few of the shorter novels constituted my "HJ training wheels" phase, this is not a collection to be taken lightly. I especially enjoy all of the Oxford World Classics versions of James, something to do with the way the paper feels and the font they use. I've got weird quirks like that, what can I say? Anyway, this quote from "The Middle Years" pretty much sums it up for me: "...the revelation of his own slowness had seemed to make all stupidity sacred." HJ makes me feel slooooow and in awe and like a barbarian, it's fantastic. I am such a masochist.
November 19, 2024
The Aspern Papers is a short novel about a literary critic trying to access the letters of a deceased author. He learns the papers are in the hands of two old women in Venice. He pretends to be a non-interested party as a way to get the papers. When he learns how he could do it, he realizes its more than her bargained for. This book also contains some other tales revolving about the literary world. For example, "The lesson of the master" is the discussion between an author and his young mentor about whether a personal life with love destroys creativity.
I like some of Henry James' stories, such as "Daisy Miller" and "Turn of the Screw" but these didn't really float my boat.
I like some of Henry James' stories, such as "Daisy Miller" and "Turn of the Screw" but these didn't really float my boat.
December 30, 2011
Couldn't get into this at all. Perhaps if I hadn't just pushed my way through a couple other books that weren't my favorites I could have tried to see this one to the end but my heart wasn't in it.
If anyone has read, or reads this and feels it's worth it, let me know and I'll work harder to make a better effort toward completion!
As any of you who follow me know, I only read audio books and the sound quality and reader of this were horrible and I wonder if that didn't play some part also in not trying harder to read!
If anyone has read, or reads this and feels it's worth it, let me know and I'll work harder to make a better effort toward completion!
As any of you who follow me know, I only read audio books and the sound quality and reader of this were horrible and I wonder if that didn't play some part also in not trying harder to read!
November 18, 2008
so, i think i like henry james' style and story-telling ability, but his books never end satisfactorily enough for me. this was doubly the case with the aspern papers. and he got a little long-winded towards the end. not terrible, but i don't think i'll ever read it again.
May 21, 2012
All the stories were about authors and their admirers. While James played with some interesting ideas, I wasn't a huge fan of his writing style and long dense paragraphs. Still, 'The Aspern Papers' provoked some interesting questions about art and the artist.
June 11, 2016
La curiosità di conoscere può giustificare i mezzi?
Di come l'ossessione, la brama, il desiderio di possedere possano portare a non avere alcuno scrupolo, alla discesa nella più profonda amoralità.
Di come l'ossessione, la brama, il desiderio di possedere possano portare a non avere alcuno scrupolo, alla discesa nella più profonda amoralità.
January 16, 2022
“We work in the dark - we do what we can - we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art.”
July 23, 2025
I prefer the stories of Henry James to his novels (because they are shorter), and The Aspern Papers is one of his better ones, although it is long for a story and could even be called a novel by today’s standards. In fact, on the day I’m writing this, I bought a clutch of recent literary novels and most of them are shorter than this by word count and some of them are even shorter by page length.
When he submitted it to the Atlantic Monthly, James insisted there should be no cuts, so it had to be split into three parts. I agree that the story would “suffer grave injury from being cut.” In fact, I like it so much I’ve read it many times.
It has a beautiful tension that is developed by very small degrees and sustained through exquisite pacing. It’s a literary page-turner. You have to concentrate, but that is part of the charm. Henry James is always interested in the smallest nuances of tone and feeling.
There are two versions of the story, one published in 1888 that you can download for free from Project Gutenberg, and the one he edited later in 1907-9, when he wrote his famous prefaces. In the later edition, which is the one included in this book, he changed a name from Tita to Tina and added quite a lot of different words for ‘papers’, such as ‘relics’ and ‘possessions,’ which add to the mystery of exactly what is at stake. Both version are, in the author’s own estimation, “brilliant.”
The inspiration for the story came from two bits of gossip that Henry James had heard. One was that Claire Clairmont, who died in 1879, was in Florence at the same time as him; but he didn’t know that at the time and missed the opportunity of going to see her. Claire Clairmont was the stepsister of Mary Shelley and travelled with the Shelleys in Italy, where she met Byron and, after “a few minutes of pleasure”, became pregnant by him, later giving birth to their daughter, Allegra. Shelley had also written various poems to and about her, which added to her mystique.
The second bit of gossip was that an American Shelley hunter who was known to James had taken up lodgings in Claire Clairmont’s home in Florence in the hope of procuring some letters of Byron’s and Shelley’s when she died.
James replaces Shelley and Byron with a single fictional American poet, Jeffrey Aspern, and transplants the location to Venice, where Aspern's former lover, the elderly but divine Juliana Borderau, lives with her middle-aged niece, Tina. The quest for the papers is then narrated by a wealthy American editor, who, together with his partner back in New York, is prepared to do almost anything to get hold of them.
Quite how far he is prepared to go is what gives the story its forward momentum and narrative tension.
The biggest problem with the story is that Jeffrey Aspern has no substance. He certainly doesn’t have the same mythic allure of Byron or Shelley. But the setting of Venice provides a magical backdrop and compensates for this weakness with its own wondrous charm, in much the same way as it does in Poe’s story The Assignation.
There are a couple of moments towards the end that pack quite a punch. Henry James has distanced himself from the unnamed narrator of the story and yet I couldn’t help thinking that there is a very strong resemblance between them. Even though I’ve read the story more than once I still find myself unable to separate the narrator’s treatment of the two women from Henry James’s treatment of women generally, both in fiction and in life. The narrator’s behaviour towards Tina bears an uncanny resemblance to James’s behaviour towards Constance Fenimore Woolson, with whom he was living in the Villa Bellosguardo in Florence at the time of writing this story.
James says he would never have gone to see Claire Cairmont, even if he had known she was in Florence at the same time as him. But what an interesting meeting that would have been! I imagine that the volatile, outspoken and dynamic Claire Clairmont would have had great sport with the stand-offish and long-winded American gentleman. What a missed opportunity! Although I suppose that meeting is still there as a possibility for any writers bold enough to take it on.
The other stories in this collection are much shorter than The Aspern Papers but echo its theme of invasion or exploitation of the private lives of artists. They serve as a valuable corrective to the temptation to identify Henry James with the unnamed narrator of The Aspern Papers, as they make it very clear that Henry James finds this practice abhorrent. This is borne out by his reviews of the published letters of other writers and the details we know of his life. Although he and Constance had a close friendship, and wrote long letters to each other when they were apart, they were determined that no one else should ever see what they had written. Not trusting even their relatives, they destroyed their letters themselves.
When he submitted it to the Atlantic Monthly, James insisted there should be no cuts, so it had to be split into three parts. I agree that the story would “suffer grave injury from being cut.” In fact, I like it so much I’ve read it many times.
It has a beautiful tension that is developed by very small degrees and sustained through exquisite pacing. It’s a literary page-turner. You have to concentrate, but that is part of the charm. Henry James is always interested in the smallest nuances of tone and feeling.
There are two versions of the story, one published in 1888 that you can download for free from Project Gutenberg, and the one he edited later in 1907-9, when he wrote his famous prefaces. In the later edition, which is the one included in this book, he changed a name from Tita to Tina and added quite a lot of different words for ‘papers’, such as ‘relics’ and ‘possessions,’ which add to the mystery of exactly what is at stake. Both version are, in the author’s own estimation, “brilliant.”
The inspiration for the story came from two bits of gossip that Henry James had heard. One was that Claire Clairmont, who died in 1879, was in Florence at the same time as him; but he didn’t know that at the time and missed the opportunity of going to see her. Claire Clairmont was the stepsister of Mary Shelley and travelled with the Shelleys in Italy, where she met Byron and, after “a few minutes of pleasure”, became pregnant by him, later giving birth to their daughter, Allegra. Shelley had also written various poems to and about her, which added to her mystique.
The second bit of gossip was that an American Shelley hunter who was known to James had taken up lodgings in Claire Clairmont’s home in Florence in the hope of procuring some letters of Byron’s and Shelley’s when she died.
James replaces Shelley and Byron with a single fictional American poet, Jeffrey Aspern, and transplants the location to Venice, where Aspern's former lover, the elderly but divine Juliana Borderau, lives with her middle-aged niece, Tina. The quest for the papers is then narrated by a wealthy American editor, who, together with his partner back in New York, is prepared to do almost anything to get hold of them.
Quite how far he is prepared to go is what gives the story its forward momentum and narrative tension.
The biggest problem with the story is that Jeffrey Aspern has no substance. He certainly doesn’t have the same mythic allure of Byron or Shelley. But the setting of Venice provides a magical backdrop and compensates for this weakness with its own wondrous charm, in much the same way as it does in Poe’s story The Assignation.
There are a couple of moments towards the end that pack quite a punch. Henry James has distanced himself from the unnamed narrator of the story and yet I couldn’t help thinking that there is a very strong resemblance between them. Even though I’ve read the story more than once I still find myself unable to separate the narrator’s treatment of the two women from Henry James’s treatment of women generally, both in fiction and in life. The narrator’s behaviour towards Tina bears an uncanny resemblance to James’s behaviour towards Constance Fenimore Woolson, with whom he was living in the Villa Bellosguardo in Florence at the time of writing this story.
James says he would never have gone to see Claire Cairmont, even if he had known she was in Florence at the same time as him. But what an interesting meeting that would have been! I imagine that the volatile, outspoken and dynamic Claire Clairmont would have had great sport with the stand-offish and long-winded American gentleman. What a missed opportunity! Although I suppose that meeting is still there as a possibility for any writers bold enough to take it on.
The other stories in this collection are much shorter than The Aspern Papers but echo its theme of invasion or exploitation of the private lives of artists. They serve as a valuable corrective to the temptation to identify Henry James with the unnamed narrator of The Aspern Papers, as they make it very clear that Henry James finds this practice abhorrent. This is borne out by his reviews of the published letters of other writers and the details we know of his life. Although he and Constance had a close friendship, and wrote long letters to each other when they were apart, they were determined that no one else should ever see what they had written. Not trusting even their relatives, they destroyed their letters themselves.
June 26, 2024
Henry James este unul dintre autorii mei preferati la care am revenit mereu de-a lungul timpului si pentru care m-am zbatut sa fac rost de toate cartile. Din pacate le-am si citit mai pe toate astfel ca imi mai ramane doar sa le recitesc din cand in cand. Am momente cand mi se face dor de operele sale, de maniera de a povesti dar cel mai mult de societatea, lumea pe care o analizeaza cu atat de multa migala si precizie.
Prezenta lucrare este o antologie de proza scurta ce cuprinde 4 povestiri:
Manuscrisele lui Jeffrey Aspern
Este o povestire magnifica, superba! Actiunea este situata in Italia, la Venetia, intr-una din acele palazzo incantatoare pe care strainii le inchiriau pe timpul sezonului. Naratorul nostru este in cautarea manuscriselor nepublicate ale unui celebru poet, Jeffrey Aspern. In demersul sau va intalni o femeie retrasa, fara sperante si ratiune de a trai. Vor fi un troc bun aceste manuscrise pe care le detine pentru a obtine iubirea?
Povestea este extrem de interesanta si inedita atat ca tematica cat si stil. Nu se mai scrie asa ceva in ziua de azi. Este gandita de un maestru si pusa in scena de un maestru.
Maud-Evelyn
O povestire in rama, mai scurta, foarte bizara si usor horror, ce mi-a adus aminte de celebra "The turn of the screw".
Lady Emma este naratoarea unei intamplari din tineretea ei, cand cunoscuse o fata pe numele Lavinia. Aceasta refuzase cererea in casatorie a unui tanar care a plecat apoi in Europa lasand-o cu impresia ca se va intoarce la ea, in ciuda refuzului. Doar ca el nu s-a mai intors singur... ci indragostit de o fantoma.
Mi-a placut mult, sunt mare fana a povestilor cu fantome, iar pentru alte asemenea opere recomand antologia "Povesti cu fantome".
Din cusca
Titlul face referire la un mic oficiu postal si telegrafic unde o tanara sarmana sta inchisa ca intr-o cusca, executand o nesfarsita munca mecanica. Ea e prinsa in aceasta colivie de fier ca o pasare rara si frumoasa visand la lumea exterioara.
Casatoriile
Este o opera din 4 parti, destul de moralista si dureroasa, cu o analiza profunda, taioasa a caracterelor. Tatal Adelei Chart, protagonista noastra, a ramas vaduv si doreste sa se recasatoreasca cu o doamna agreabila si bogata. Totusi, Adela nu se poate impaca cu aceasta decizie considerand ca gestul ar profana amintirea mamei ei. Iar cand se va implica ii va distruge pe toti.
Mi-a placut foarte mult povestirea, este extrem de matura, serioasa, dar si actuala, din care putem invata. Henry James a scris-o avand ca exemple situatii de viata din societatea de la 1900 insa cred ca se poate aplica si astazi.
Asadar, suntem in prezenta unei colectii de patru povestiri, diferite ca tematica insa foarte reusite. Daca nu-l citesti pe Henry James iti este greu sa-ti imaginezi cum e sa escaladezi Everestul fara franghie. Si atunci te consolezi ca nici nu e posibil. Insa este, James are magia.
Prezenta lucrare este o antologie de proza scurta ce cuprinde 4 povestiri:
Manuscrisele lui Jeffrey Aspern
Este o povestire magnifica, superba! Actiunea este situata in Italia, la Venetia, intr-una din acele palazzo incantatoare pe care strainii le inchiriau pe timpul sezonului. Naratorul nostru este in cautarea manuscriselor nepublicate ale unui celebru poet, Jeffrey Aspern. In demersul sau va intalni o femeie retrasa, fara sperante si ratiune de a trai. Vor fi un troc bun aceste manuscrise pe care le detine pentru a obtine iubirea?
Povestea este extrem de interesanta si inedita atat ca tematica cat si stil. Nu se mai scrie asa ceva in ziua de azi. Este gandita de un maestru si pusa in scena de un maestru.
Maud-Evelyn
O povestire in rama, mai scurta, foarte bizara si usor horror, ce mi-a adus aminte de celebra "The turn of the screw".
Lady Emma este naratoarea unei intamplari din tineretea ei, cand cunoscuse o fata pe numele Lavinia. Aceasta refuzase cererea in casatorie a unui tanar care a plecat apoi in Europa lasand-o cu impresia ca se va intoarce la ea, in ciuda refuzului. Doar ca el nu s-a mai intors singur... ci indragostit de o fantoma.
Mi-a placut mult, sunt mare fana a povestilor cu fantome, iar pentru alte asemenea opere recomand antologia "Povesti cu fantome".
Din cusca
Titlul face referire la un mic oficiu postal si telegrafic unde o tanara sarmana sta inchisa ca intr-o cusca, executand o nesfarsita munca mecanica. Ea e prinsa in aceasta colivie de fier ca o pasare rara si frumoasa visand la lumea exterioara.
Casatoriile
Este o opera din 4 parti, destul de moralista si dureroasa, cu o analiza profunda, taioasa a caracterelor. Tatal Adelei Chart, protagonista noastra, a ramas vaduv si doreste sa se recasatoreasca cu o doamna agreabila si bogata. Totusi, Adela nu se poate impaca cu aceasta decizie considerand ca gestul ar profana amintirea mamei ei. Iar cand se va implica ii va distruge pe toti.
Mi-a placut foarte mult povestirea, este extrem de matura, serioasa, dar si actuala, din care putem invata. Henry James a scris-o avand ca exemple situatii de viata din societatea de la 1900 insa cred ca se poate aplica si astazi.
Asadar, suntem in prezenta unei colectii de patru povestiri, diferite ca tematica insa foarte reusite. Daca nu-l citesti pe Henry James iti este greu sa-ti imaginezi cum e sa escaladezi Everestul fara franghie. Si atunci te consolezi ca nici nu e posibil. Insa este, James are magia.
March 18, 2023
The short stories in this collection all deal with the effect that the creative act (writing, in most cases) has on a human life and, specifically, on the question of to what extent we should sacrifice in other areas of our lives to further our art. Should we marry for art? Should we abstain from marriage for art? Both of this situations come up in these stories.
The introduction to the Penguin Classics edition mentions that Henry James often began his writing not from sketches of characters, but from sketches of scenarios. We get in some of these stories, unfortunately, the feeling that the plot and characters have been shoe-horned to arrive at a particular ending. "The Author of Beltraffio", the earliest of the stories chronologically, was the worst offender.
The two best stories are "The Aspern Papers" and "The Lesson of the Master". In these, like in the best of Dickens, the characters live up to their far-fetched scenario. In "The Aspern Papers," the narrator—a literary editor—takes rooms in the Venice residence of an elderly woman and her niece. His goal is to gain access to a collection of letters the woman owns, intending to publish them. The first-person perspective lets us see into his mania for the documents and lets us watch as he grapples with just how far he is willing to go. In "The Lesson of the Master", our protagonist's literary idol advises him to sacrifice the prospects of marriage to the intellectually adroit Marian Fancourt on the alter of literature, only to then pursue Miss Fancourt himself. Again—this time in the third-person—we are in the main character's head as he grapples with his situation.
Beyond the details of the stories, there is a joy in reading about characters who inhabit a world where they really can be on the verge of being consumed by their literary art; where it is taken that seriously.
The introduction to the Penguin Classics edition mentions that Henry James often began his writing not from sketches of characters, but from sketches of scenarios. We get in some of these stories, unfortunately, the feeling that the plot and characters have been shoe-horned to arrive at a particular ending. "The Author of Beltraffio", the earliest of the stories chronologically, was the worst offender.
The two best stories are "The Aspern Papers" and "The Lesson of the Master". In these, like in the best of Dickens, the characters live up to their far-fetched scenario. In "The Aspern Papers," the narrator—a literary editor—takes rooms in the Venice residence of an elderly woman and her niece. His goal is to gain access to a collection of letters the woman owns, intending to publish them. The first-person perspective lets us see into his mania for the documents and lets us watch as he grapples with just how far he is willing to go. In "The Lesson of the Master", our protagonist's literary idol advises him to sacrifice the prospects of marriage to the intellectually adroit Marian Fancourt on the alter of literature, only to then pursue Miss Fancourt himself. Again—this time in the third-person—we are in the main character's head as he grapples with his situation.
Beyond the details of the stories, there is a joy in reading about characters who inhabit a world where they really can be on the verge of being consumed by their literary art; where it is taken that seriously.
December 28, 2019
A very varied selection. The third item, called simply 'The Papers', may safely be disregarded; though it has ideas that could have made a good story, it came out in 1903 and, as FR Leavis remarked: 'Clear and pleasing sentence structure = Tokyo; late period Henry James = Godzilla.' Though maybe not in quite those terms.
The other two, the title piece and 'The Real Thing', show us James on top form. 'The Aspern Papers' has much to say about the sense of cultural desolation that must have pervaded the 1880s: everybody any good was dead and the literary renaissance of the 90s was still a decade away. Thus, we have the significantly nameless narrator's obsession with getting hold of the papers of his idol, the long-dead poet Aspern, an off-stage hero, the details of whose life, we sense, would seriously undermine the narrator's worshipful mindset.
The remaining piece, 'The Real Thing', is a little cracker which also appears in another volume in the same series, 'Selected Short Stories.' Read it in either - but do read it!
The other two, the title piece and 'The Real Thing', show us James on top form. 'The Aspern Papers' has much to say about the sense of cultural desolation that must have pervaded the 1880s: everybody any good was dead and the literary renaissance of the 90s was still a decade away. Thus, we have the significantly nameless narrator's obsession with getting hold of the papers of his idol, the long-dead poet Aspern, an off-stage hero, the details of whose life, we sense, would seriously undermine the narrator's worshipful mindset.
The remaining piece, 'The Real Thing', is a little cracker which also appears in another volume in the same series, 'Selected Short Stories.' Read it in either - but do read it!
June 17, 2024
Grad school 1979. Portrait of a Lady was required reading for one of my electives. The prof was a bit of a challenge. My initial response was 'a tale about a dilettante by a dilettante.' Masterfully written, but . . . . . But, he keeps coming up. So, HJ is my 2024 19th century 'task' - I'm going to keep chipping away at the letters, one of the bio's, another short story, an essay and maybe one of the novels. Not rushing headlong into this. I read 'The Aspern Papers' from this collection. Definitely held my attention. Just no real involvement for me with the characters. Unsympathetic. Which was my issue with 'Portrait of a Lady.' I can see why people enjoy his work and others consider him a master story teller. Just not there yet. But, I'm keeping an open mind. By the way, kudos again to Penguin for the wonderful introduction/background both here and 'Henry James: A Life in Letters.' Love the cover here. Long time fan of Degas.
September 15, 2024
A strange, moving little story with the emotional and psychological complexity typical of James. A literary critic obsessed with the long-dead (and fictitious) poet Jeffrey Aspern travels to Venice, where the elderly woman who was once the subject of Aspern’s most passionate romantic poetry resides with her niece. The critic (we never learn his name) believes the woman possesses letters and other papers of Aspern’s. His plan is to insinuate himself into the lives of these two women and somehow get hold of the manuscripts. Despite the critic’s dishonesty and mercenary plans it’s a tribute to James’ talent at creating nuanced characters that we never really dislike him. Near the end of “The Aspern Papers” an unsurprising act of quiet heroism sets this tale up for a conclusion thoroughly satisfying to the reader—but not, alas, for the characters.
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