Terminations: The Death of the Lion, The Coxon Fund, The Middle Years, The Altar of the Dead

by Henry James

Terminations is Henry James's most thematically unified collection of stories. Gathered in 1895, and following his fascination with the supernatural in the 1880s, this elegant collection explores the sadness of loss, both physical and spiritual, and finds James at his introspective best, while providing a glimpse of how the author dealt with death in his own life. The collection consists of four "The Death of the Lion," in which the narrator prepares to write an obituary for a great editor he admired; "The Coxon Fund," where an endowment from a will comes unexpectedly to a seemingly undeserving character; "The Middle Years," a brief glimpse at the public reception of a novel and the private sacrifice it exacted from its author; and "The Altar of the Dead," a moving meditation on finding meaning in life that James wrote in response to the death of a close lady friend. Terminations reveals a writer preoccupied with the endings of life, expressing his thoughts in prose that is as finely balanced as the most famous of James's work.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1895

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

[Lauren]

I'm cracking up over all the obvious Pretty Little Liars fans jumping onto this. I mean I'm one of them, but still.

[Felice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I somehow needed to reread James novella "The Altar of the Dead" and I'm glad I did as it is about forgiveness-- much is now needed. Not only for the story itself which is near-perfect but for the other long stories in the book. And then for other later stories besides these in other volumes of his work that I have: "The Beldonald Holbein, The Birthplace, The Two Faces, The Liar, The Friends of the Friends, The Lesson of the Master", and "The Death of the Lion." Excellent as some of the novels are, they are of necessity consistent in mood, tone, and close plotting. In his shorter fiction, James was frankly experimental. Some like "The Glasses" are funnier now than I remembered. "Lady Barberina" is also a hoot: while the British "Jewish Princess" title character can't stand America, her younger sister adores it and is adored in turn by it in the form of a burly cowboy. "The Death of the Lion" is satire of the literary sort with a solid bedrock of Jamesian personal anger beneath its near farcical perfection. Rereading a few of these stories later in life gave me new angles onto them--and new appreciation: "The Friend of the Friends" is about two people who've experienced the Supernatural but never meet but also about the destructiveness of categorizing and compartmentalizing friends. "The Liar" is about the title character, but sadly also about his wife, who aids and abets him, and what we all do for love. These are stories for grown ups who have grown up relationships and grown up problems.

[• Domeniko • · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.20

[Emily D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the first couple of stories similar to the Aspern Papers. Didn't really understand the Middle Years as much. It was more of a rambling. The last one was a lovely dark tale that could fit in well with a collection of Edgar Allan Poe's stories.
A couple of quotes:
p.24: "He was far from unsociable, but he had the finest conception of being let alone that I have ever met."
p.28: "I could do nothing for him but exchange with him over people's heads looks of intense but futile intelligence."