Critical essays and excerpts from James' notebooks, letters, and prefaces accompany nine stories that deal with ghosts, tyranny, the impact of Europe on Americans, and social manipulation

Henry James led a wandering life, which took him far from his native shores, but he continued to think of New York City, where his family had settled for several years during his childhood, as his hometown. Here Colm Tóibín, the author of the Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel The Master, a portrait of Henry James, brings together for the first time all the stories that James set in New York City. Written over the course of James’s career and ranging from the deliciously tart comedy of the early “An International Episode” to the surreal and haunted corridors of “The Jolly Corner,” and including “Washington Square,” the poignant novella considered by many (though not, as it happens, by the author himself) to be one of James’s finest achievements, the nine fictions gathered here reflect James’s varied talents and interests as well as the deep and abiding preoccupations of his imagination. And throughout the book, as Tóibín’s fascinating introduction demonstrates, we see James struggling to make sense of a city in whose rapidly changing outlines he discerned both much that he remembered and held dear as well as everything about America and its future that he dreaded most. Stories included: The Story of a Masterpiece A Most Extraordinary Case Crawford’s Consistency An International Episode The Impressions of a Cousin The Jolly Corner Washington Square Crapy Cornelia A Round of Visits

Henry James (1843-1916) was an America-born English writer whose novels, short stories and letters established the foundation of the modernist movement in twentieth century fiction and poetry. His career, one of the most significant and influential in English literature, spanned over five decades and resulted in a body of work that has had a profound impact on generations of writers. Born in New York, but educated in France, Germany, England and Switzerland, James often explored the cultural discord between the Old World (Europe) and the New World (United States) in his writings. Included in this first volume of "The Complete Tales of Henry James" are the earliest published writings from the author beginning with "A Tragedy of Error," published in 1864. Also included in this volume: "The Story of a Year," "A Landscape-Painter," "A Day of Days," "My Friend Bingham," "Poor Richard," "The Story of a Masterpiece," "The Romance of a Certain Old Clothes," "A Most Extraordinary Case," "A Problem," and "De Grey: A Romance."

"A marvelously rich and intelligent read, atmospheric, witty, irreverent, and not least a sharply perceptive portrait of those three extraordinary Jameses." -John Banville, author of The Infinities Under Certain Circumstances, No One Is More Suited to Solving a Crime than a Woman Confined to Her Bed An invalid for most her life, Alice James is quite used to people underestimating her. And she generally doesn't mind. But this time she is not about to let things alone. Yes, her brother Henry may be a famous author, and her other brother William a rising star in the new field of psychology. But when they all find themselves quite unusually involved in the chase for a most vile new murderer-one who goes by the chilling name of Jack the Ripper-Alice is certain of two things: No one could be more suited to gather evidence about the nature of the killer than her brothers. But if anyone is going to correctly examine the evidence and solve the case, it will have to be up to her. Praise for Paula Marantz Cohen "Cohen's wit is sharp, smart, and satirical, and her characterizations are vividly on target." -San Francisco Chronicle

How Far Would You Go Just To Nurture Your Obsession? “That was originally what I had loved him for: that at a period when our native land was nude and crude and provincial, when the famous 'atmosphere' it is supposed to lack was not even missed, when literature was lonely there and art and form almost impossible, he had found the means to live and write like one of the first; to be free and general and not at all afraid; to feel, understand, and express everything.” - Henry James, The Aspern Papers An anonymous narrator arrives in Venice to retrieve Jeffrey Aspern’s - an American poet and his idol - love letters. There he finds Juliana Bordereau and his aging niece who may or may not have the letters in question. To convince Juliana, the narrator tries to seduce the niece, Miss Tita but is he willing to pay the price? Xist Publishing is a digital-first publisher. Xist Publishing creates books for the touchscreen generation and is dedicated to helping everyone develop a lifetime love of reading, no matter what form it takes

The governess of two enigmatic children fears their souls are in danger from the ghosts of the previous governess and her sinister lover.

Publisher description

Henry James (1843-1916) was an America-born English writer whose novels, short stories and letters established the foundation of the modernist movement in twentieth century fiction and poetry. His career, one of the most significant and influential in English literature, spanned over five decades and resulted in a body of work that has had a profound impact on generations of writers. Born in New York, but educated in France, Germany, England and Switzerland, James often explored the cultural discord between the Old World (Europe) and the New World (United States) in his writings. Included in this first volume of The Complete Tales of Henry James are the earliest published writings from the author beginning with A Tragedy of Error, published in 1864. Also included in this volume: The Story of a Year, A Landscape-Painter, A Day of Days, My Friend Bingham, Poor Richard, The Story of a Masterpiece, The Romance of a Certain Old Clothes, A Most Extraordinary Case, A Problem, and De Grey: A Romance.