Selected Tales

by Henry James, John Lyon (Editor)

Throughout his writing life, Henry James was drawn to the short-story form for the freedom it offered him—and he made the genre his own. This new selection comprises both brief tales and longer works that explore James's concerns with the old world and the new, and with money, fame, class, and art. "Daisy Miller," "The Lesson of the Master," "The Real Thing," "The Figure in the Carpet," "In the Cage," "The Beast in the Jungle," and "The Jolly Corner" are included here, along with twelve others. Haunting, witty, and beautifully drawn, these stories are as rich and resonant as James's novels.



Four meetings --
Daisy Miller --
The pension Beaurepas --
The lesson of the master --
The pupil --
The real thing --
Greville Fane --
The middle years --
The figure in the carpet --
In the cage --
The real right thing --
Broken wings --
The abasement of the Northmores --
The beast in the jungle --
The birthplace --
Fordham Castle --
Julia Bride --
The jolly corner --

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, Literary Fiction, 19th Century, Victorian, American

604 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1866

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

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preliminary rating. The stories are of course not all on the same level, many of them rate 5 stars, others were something of a snooze as I recall.

[natalia]

przeczytane po łebkach, bo na zajęcia ups

[Manoel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Months have elapsed, riding on a train-wreck of enthusiasm and boredom, but after a many 19 tales, I can at last say "Oh, Henry James? Yeah, I've read his works". While the scope of his career comprise much, much more than what we have available in Selected Tales, this anthology of short stories -- for better or for worse -- contain the essence of what he had for the definition of "literature", or, even better, "art".

Many of the tales in this book depict artists and the artist's work: struggle, sacrifice, recognition and elevation. But I must say that I hold a strong prejudice against any story with a writer-protagonist, because it basically means the actual writer has a very limited mind and is unable to unchain himself from mediocrity to truly create stories. Especially in contemporary literature, I would say four or five out of every ten books we have a synopsis like "xxx is a young writer struggling to see his work receive the attention it deserves, while managing a troubling modern life with a somewhat troubling lover, a certain troubling family and most likely troubling friends." Of course, my irony in here is precisely to ridiculise how vain and short-sighted those authors -- and stories -- are, placing themselves in an elevated pedestal, waiting to be revered as demi-gods whose works are unfairly unnoticed by the plebs, i.e. they are the only ones to carry humanity forward, and that humanity is precisely on the verge of collapse because of its ignorance as to the sublime and unearthly merit of their work. So I found this prejudice to be fairly valid with James as well, especially believing that in the 19th century, this false virtue of the artist should be even greater than today.

And, then, I started reading The Lesson of the Master, a tale about a young writer aiming to be the next sensation of the literary world, as "the Master" Henry St. George teaches him "the way of the artist" and the trials he must overcome to reach glory. When you put it that way, it almost sounds as a contemporary TV series or a coming of age film. I simply pictured a trailer from The Karate Kid in my mind while writing the previous synopsis. But in fact, what James is able to show us -- and, surprisingly, it's something no contemporary author is able to, at least to me -- is how universal the aspects of life are, and writers/artists are no exception to the Rule of Struggle. He treats his characters as no more exquisite as ordinary people; artists are not gods, and should they crave to be deemed as such, they might as well sacrifice everything that is mortal. In simple words, Henry James is just trying to say: "there are no tricks, no gimmicks." In fact, all of his "artists" in Selected Tales are confronted with a terrible truth: that they may not end up well, and that they might belong to the lowest human status.

What truly stands out in many of the book's tales are themes developed throughout: some of them are found in more than one story, and the best stories are those that better and more acutely present those themes (no deviations). Conflict is something recurrent, There is the conflict of interests from different parties in Julia Bride, the ultimate choice of the artist in The Lesson of the Master or even the conflict between yourself and your alter persona in The Jolly Corner. but among others are the remains after death Such as the eerie presence of the deceased among his letters in The Real Right Thing, a dead man's keepsaked of another dead man in The Abasement of the Northmores and the "hidden truth" in The Figure in the Carpet. and also the double aspect of a person, their appearance and then falsity As with the farse in Fordham Castle, metaphorically, and The Pension Beaurepas, then more visibly. They resonate so strong that we, in our time, are able to understand and appreciate those themes, as if they never aged, and thus those stories never age as well. That is why I believe Henry James, even with his complex style and even more troubling phrasal construction (which, believe, for a non-native English speaker it can become quite horrendous) can be read and admired by many today, they just need to find the right ones.

On a personal note, I would like to end with a few general findings on Selected Tales. First, Daisy Miller, considered James's breakthrough, has not aged well, because what our main character raffishly did in the 19th century would be so ordinary and unimportant in the 21st century (a scandal over her actions would seem even more scandalous than the actions themselves, nowadays). Then, I must say that, among his most well-known works included here (namely Daisy Miller, The Beast in the Jungle and The Lesson of the Master), the only one that truly got my attention was the latter, and, surprisingly, it didn't turn out to be my favourite tale in the end (although it came in a close second place). Instead, this honour goes to The Pension Beaurepas, a funny and soon-turned-nostalgic take on one of James's greatest themes: the clash between America and Europe.

Again, this anthology contains the essence of James, and I am sure it would do good for new readers of Henry James to take a look a it and see the artist behind the work.

[Jpedgehill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these tales carry that turn of phrase and insight that make James such a joy. Others truly drag. Read this one only before you sort through that chaff... otherwise, you'll be halfway through one of the bores about a middling, young author and find yourself putting this book down for a year or more.

[James Christenbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic collection of stories. Each of the 19 short stories contained in this collection is worth reading. My favorites included "The Beast in the Jungle," "The Figure in the Carpet," and "Daisy Miller."

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t get along with the author’s prose. But the “Beast in the Jungle” is definitely worth a read, it gave me a lot to think about.

[Scott Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

He truly is The Master.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the introduction to this collection H.G. Wells is quoted as describing James’s narrative style as “...a magnificent but painful hippopotamus resolved at any cost, even at the cost of its dignity, upon picking up a pea”. There is a good measure of truth to this. If such a style were employed in the writing of non-fiction I think I would throw the book across the room, but with fiction it is somehow enjoyable so long as you read slowly and don’t expect a narrative rollercoaster.

The stories cover the usual Jamesian themes of interactions of rich Americans with rich Europeans, class, culture etc. Most of the stories are very good, and a few are outstanding such as Daisy Miller which deals with social ostracism. There are hints of gay sub plots in some and often a fair dose of irony and always acute social observations.

Although James is often engaged with the lives of elites, their concerns with the non-commercial are a surprisingly refreshing (dare I say subversive) antidote to the contemporary preoccupations of profit and corporate values which otherwise permeate our lives. His world is one I wouldn’t choose to inhabit, but I like to visit it once a year and enjoy the difference with our own.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG. "The Beast in the Jungle." Incredibly fine and moving. Wade through the first paragraph, breathe with Mr. James' cadences, and then wait for those super surprising, super modern, cryptic, hyper-smart characters to tell their story.