Tales of Henry James (Norton Critical Editions) [Paperback]

Henry James (Author), Christof Wegelin (Editor), Henry B. Wonham (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393977102 | ISBN-13: 978-0393977103 | Publication Date: November 2002 | Edition: Second Edition

Nine of James’s most important tales, including (new to the second edition) "In the Cage," a tale that engages James’s complicated attitudes toward gender, class, and the rise of information technology.

"The Author on His Craft" again reprints James’s critical essay "The Art of Fiction" and related passages from his notebooks, including a new passage on "In the Cage." "Criticism" has been entirely updated and includes ten new essays by critics who during the last twenty-five years have helped to establish the lines of debate about James’s tales. An updated Selected Bibliography is also included.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christof Wegelin is Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Oregon. He is the author of The Idea of Europe in Henry James and of articles on Hawthorne, Hemingway, and Wharton, among others.

Henry B. Wonham is Associate Professor of English at the University of Oregon. He is the author of Mark Twain and the Art of the Tale and Charles W. Chesnutt, A Study of the Short Fiction and editor of Criticism and the Color Line.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Second Edition edition (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393977102
• ISBN-13: 978-0393977103
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #301,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Henry James (1843-1916), the son of the religious philosopher Henry James Sr. and brother of the psychologist and philosopher William James, published many important novels including Daisy Miller, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, and The Ambassadors.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Collection, January 17, 2010

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W. H. Pugmire "I never can be tied to raw, ne... (Sesqua Valley) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tales of Henry James (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

I am reviewing the first edition of this magnificent book. I had no idea there was a second edition, which adds one new tale to the contents and includes updated critical essays. I've just ordered it and can't wait to devour!

The contents for the first edition is:
THE TEXTS OF THE STORIES
"Daisy Miller: A Study" (1878)
"An International Episode" (1878)
"The Aspern Papers" (1888)
"The Pupil" (1891)
"Brooksmith" (1891)
"The Real Thing" (1892)
"The Middle Years" (1893)
"The Beast in the Jungle" (1903)
"The Jolly Corner" (1908)

THE AUTHOR ON HIS CRAFT
Editor's Commentary
Henry James, "The Art of Fiction"
From the Notebooks of Henry James:
[On the origin of "Brooksmith"]
[On the origin of "The Aspern Papers"]
[On the origin of "The Real Thing"]
[On the origin of "The Middle Years"]
[On the origin of "The Beast in the Jungle"]
[Regarding "The Jolly Corner" in retrospect}
Henry James, from His Prefaces:
[on each of the tales in this edition]
Henry James, from His Letters:
--To Eliza Lynn Linton (ca. August 1880)
--To Mrs. F. H. Hill (March 21, 1879)
BACKGROUND:
Katherine Anne Porter, "The Days Before"
Leon Edel, "Henry James: The American-European Legend"
CRITICISM:
David Daiches, "Sensibility and Technique (Preface to a Critique)
Jacques Barzun, "James the Melodramatist"
F. O. Mattiessen and Kenneth B. Murdock, "{How His Ideas Came to Him]"
Christof Wegelin, "Revision and Style"
Philip Rahv, "Daisy Miller"
Carol Ohmann, "Daisy Miller: A Study of Changing Intentions"
Christof Wegelin, ["An International Episode"]
Wayne C. Booth, "'The Purloining of the Aspern Papers' or 'The Evocation of Venice'?"
Mildred Hartsock, "Unweeded Garden: A View of THE ASPERN PAPERS"
Mildred Hartsock, ["The Pupil"]
Earle Labor, "James's "The Real Thing": Three Levels of Meaning
Krishna Baldev Vaid, "The Beast in the Jungle"
Edwin H. Cady, ["The Beast in the Jungle"]
Krishna Baldev Vaid, "The Jolly Corner"

The book tucks in a lot of text, and it is all of extraordinary interest. Literary biography and criticism are passions of mine, and thus these Norton Critical Editions are goldmines that overflow with literary gems. The choice of tales is fine (I would have preferred something other than the dull "An International Episode," something wondrous like "The Figure in the Carpet"). James had such a fine mind, and his imagination knew no equal. His strange works, such as THE SACRED FOUNT and "The Turn of the Screw"and "The Figure in the Carpet" are very weird indeed -- either they completely captivate you or drive you crazy. Of the tales printed here, "The Aspern Papers" is my favourite, a tale with which I am obsessed (I have it in many printed editions and in two spoken word audio editions). The story has inspired a variety of reactions, one of the strongest reactions may be found in Sheldon M. Novick's perverse yet fascinating two-volume biography of Henry James, We find, in THE MATURE MASTER, page 110: "The story was a cruel joke, and it concerned people who were still living; but the story was a great success. The atmosphere of Venice is beautifully evoked. much of the action occurs in an improbable garden, and the narrator's evil deception is at home in the atmosphere of mingled innocence and corruption." I like that phrase, "an improbably garden," and hope one day to use it in a supernatural Lovecraftian tale of my own inspir'd by "The Aspern Papers." And Novick reminds us that Henry James was a master in evoking a sense of place just as much as he was dipping into human psyche.

This is such a great book, and it serves as a wonderful edition to those who are coming to Henry James short stories for the first time. His complete tales have finally been published in five handsome hardcover editions from The Library of America. He was, in the short story and novella form, as much a Master as he was of the intricate novel.