Best Selling Books by Henry James

With a decaying Venetian villa as a backdrop, an anonymous narrator relates his obsessive quest for the personal documents of a deceased Romantic poet, one Jeffrey Aspern. Led by his mission into increasingly unscrupulous behavior, he is ultimately faced with relinquishing his heart''s desire or attaining it at an overwhelming price.

This collection includes three of Henry James''s most famous works: ''The Spoils of Poynton, '' a novel about a clash of values between two women over the ownership of valuable antiques; ''A London Life, '' a short story collection exploring the complexities of social hierarchy and romantic relationships; and ''The Chaperon, '' a novella about a young American woman''s adventures in Europe. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

THE AMBASSADORS by Henry James 1843-1916

1883. American-born writer, gifted with talents in literature, psychology, and philosophy. James wrote 20 novels, 112 stories, 12 plays and works of literary criticism. Among James''s most famous literary works are The Europeans, his commercial success Daisy Miller, the critically acclaimed Washington Square, The Bostonians, and The Turn of the Screw. A collection of James''s essays containing: Alfred de Musset; Theophile Gautier; Charles Baudelaire; Honore de Balzac; Balzac''s Letters; George Sand; Charles de Bernard and Gustave Flaubert; Ivan Turgenieff; The Two Amperes; Madame de Sabran; Merimee''s Letters; and The Theatre Francais. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing

The plot of Washington Square has the simplicity of old-fashioned melodrama: a plain-looking, good-hearted young woman, the only child of a rich widower, is pursued by a charming but unscrupulous man who seeks the wealth she will presumably inherit. On this premise, Henry James constructed one of his most memorable novels, a story in which love is answered with betrayal and loyalty leads inexorably to despair."-- from the Introduction by Peter ConnIn Washington Square (1880), Henry James reminisces about the New York he had known thirty years before as he tells the story of Catherine Sloper and her fortune-seeking suitor Morris Townsend. This perceptively drawn human drama is James'' most accessible work and an enduring literary triumph.Includes a biography of the author.

The Portrait of a Lady is the story of a spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who, in "confronting her destiny", finds it overwhelming. Isabel, originally from Albany, is invited by her maternal aunt, Lydia Touchett, to visit London, following the death of Isabel''s father. When the elder Touchett grows ill, at the request of his son, he leaves much of his estate to Isabel. With her large legacy, Isabel travels to Italy and meets several dubious people interested in her wealth.

An anonymous narrator recalls a Christmas Eve gathering at an old house, where guests listen to one another''s ghost stories. A guest named Douglas introduces a story that involves two children-Flora and Miles-and his sister''s governess, with whom he was in love. After procuring the governess''s written record of events from his home, he provides a few introductory details. A handsome bachelor persuaded the governess to take a position as governess for his niece and nephew in an isolated country home after the previous governess died. Douglas begins to read from the written record, and the story shifts to the governess''s point of view as she narrates her strange experience. The governess begins her story with her first day at Bly, the country home, where she meets Flora and a maid named Mrs. Grose.

The Turn of the Screw is a short novel or a novella written by American writer Henry James. Originally published in 1898, it is ostensibly a ghost story that has lent itself well to operatic and film adaptation. Due to its ambiguous content and narrative skill, The Turn of the Screw became a favorite text of New Criticism.The account has lent itself to dozens of different interpretations, often mutually exclusive, including those of a Freudian nature. Many critics have tried to determine what exactly is the nature of evil within the story.

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘The Ambassadors’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of Henry James’. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of James includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily. eBook features: * The complete unabridged text of ‘The Ambassadors’ * Beautifully illustrated with images related to James’s works * Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook * Excellent formatting of the textPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘A Small Boy and Others’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of Henry James’. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of James includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily. eBook features: * The complete unabridged text of ‘A Small Boy and Others’ * Beautifully illustrated with images related to James’s works * Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook * Excellent formatting of the textPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles

Regarded by many as Henry James''s finest work, and a lucid tragedy exploring the distance between money and happiness, The Portrait of a Lady contains an introduction by Philip Horne in Penguin Classics. When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to enjoy the freedom that her fortune has opened up and to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors. Then she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gilbert Osmond. Charming and cultivated, Osmond sees Isabel as a rich prize waiting to be taken. Beneath his veneer of civilized behaviour, Isabel discovers cruelty and a stifling darkness. In this portrait of a ''young woman affronting her destiny'', Henry James created one of his most magnificent heroines, and a story of intense poignancy. This edition of The Portrait of a Lady, based on the earliest published copy of the novel, is the version read first and loved by most readers in James''s lifetime. It also contains a chronology, further reading, notes and an introduction by Philip Horne.

Daisy Miller is a novella by Henry James that first appeared in Cornhill Magazine in June-July 1878, and in book form the following year. It portrays the courtship of the beautiful American girl Daisy Miller by Winterbourne, a sophisticated compatriot of hers. His pursuit of her is hampered by her own flirtatiousness, which is frowned upon by the other expatriates when they meet in Switzerland and Italy.Daisy Miller is a fascinating portrait of a young woman from Schenectady, New York, who, traveling in Europe, runs afoul of the socially pretentious American expatriate community in Rome. First published in 1878, the novella brought American novelist Henry James (1843-1916), then living in London, his first international success. Like many of James'' early works, it portrays a venturesome American girl in the treacherous waters of European society - a theme that would culminate in his 1881 masterpiece, The Portrait of a Lady.On the surface, Daisy Miller unfolds a simple story of a young American girl''s willful yet innocent flirtation with a young Italian, and its unfortunate consequences. But throughout the narrative, James contrasts American customs and values with European manners and morals in a tale rich in psychological and social insight. A vivid portrayal of Americans abroad and a telling encounter between the values of the Old and New World, Daisy Miller is an ideal introduction to the work of one of America''s greatest writers of fiction.

Daisy Miller is a novel by Henry James that first appeared in Cornhill Magazine in June-July 1878, and in book form the following year. It portrays the courtship of the beautiful American girl Daisy Miller by Winterbourne, a sophisticated compatriot of hers.Includes a biography of the author.

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic includes a glossary and reader''s notes to help the modern reader more fully appreciate the rich complexity of James'' language, images, and symbols.Before there was Alfred Hitchcock, there was Henry James, and before Psycho, there was The Turn of the Screw.Why is the young governess the only one who can see the ghosts?Are her young charges haunted or evil?Or is the governess herself mad?The book that claims to start out as a Christmas Eve ghost story quickly becomes a tale of psychological horror as the governess struggles-and ultimately fails-to protect the children from the "corruption" that only she can conceive of...but cannot name.Richly wrought in Late-Victorian prose, Henry James'' most famous novel is both hauntingly beautiful and a shocking glimpse into the ultimate source of evil...the human mind.

When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy Aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors. She then finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gilbert Osmond, who, beneath his veneer of charm and cultivation, is cruelty itself. A story of intense poignancy, Isabel''s tale of love and betrayal still resonates with modern audiences.

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘Notes of a Son and Brother’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of Henry James’. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of James includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily. eBook features: * The complete unabridged text of ‘Notes of a Son and Brother’ * Beautifully illustrated with images related to James’s works * Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook * Excellent formatting of the textPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles

At the little town of Vevey, in Switzerland, there is a particularly comfortable hotel. There are, indeed, many hotels, for the entertainment of tourists is the business of the place, which, as many travelers will remember, is seated upon the edge of a remarkably blue lake-a lake that it behooves every tourist to visit. The shore of the lake presents an unbroken array of establishments of this order, of every category, from the "grand hotel" of the newest fashion, with a chalk-white front, a hundred balconies, and a dozen flags flying from its roof, to the little Swiss pension of an elder day, with its name inscribed in German-looking lettering upon a pink or yellow wall and an awkward summerhouse in the angle of the garden. One of the hotels at Vevey, however, is famous, even classical, being distinguished from many of its upstart neighbors by an air both of luxury and of maturity.

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘Transatlantic Sketches’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of Henry James’. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of James includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily. eBook features: * The complete unabridged text of ‘Transatlantic Sketches’ * Beautifully illustrated with images related to James’s works * Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook * Excellent formatting of the textPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles

The Portrait of a Lady (Penguin Classics) Regarded by many as Henry James''s finest work, and a lucid tragedy exploring the distance between money and happiness, The Portrait of a Lady contains an introduction by Philip Horne in Penguin Classics. When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to enjoy the freedom that her fortune has opened up and to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors. Then she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gilbert Osmond. Charming and cultivated, Osmond sees Isabel as a rich prize waiting to be taken. Beneath his veneer of civilized behaviour, Isabel discovers cruelty and a stifling darkness. In this portrait of a ''young woman affronting her destiny'', Henry James created one of his most magnificent heroines, and a story of intense poignancy. This edition of The Portrait of a Lady, based on the earliest published copy of the novel, is the version read first and loved by most readers in James''s lifetime. It also contains a chronology, further reading, notes and an introduction by Philip Horne. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Formatted for e-reader Illustrated About The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James Here are certain superb stories by one of America''s finest writers of fiction. Henry James is best known for his many brilliant novels, among them The Bostonians, The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, and his masterpiece, Portrait of a Lady. But he is deeply admired for his stories as well, which perhaps even more pointedly reveal the extraordinary subtleties of his art.That art is nowhere more evident than in "The Beast in the Jungle," regarded by many as James''s greatest achievement in short fiction. It is a gripping portrait of a man alienated from life and love, haunted and obsessed by his fears. James''s uncanny ability to communicate the inner lives of his characters is also richly evident in "The Jolly Corner" and "The Altar of the Dead," two superbly crafted tales that explore the complex interlacings of loss, love, and the ever-present past in the lives of their protagonists.

Regarded as one of Henry James'' finest works, the short story "The Beast in the Jungle" centers around protagonist John Marcher and his seemingly bizarre phobia -- a pervasive sense of doom that prevents him from living his life to the fullest and precludes the possibility of him ever finding true love. This fascinating read highlights the psychological complexity that has earned James'' fiction so much critical acclaim.

The Ambassadors is a 1903 novel by Henry James, originally published as a serial in the North American Review (NAR). This dark comedy, seen as one of the masterpieces of James''s final period, follows the trip of protagonist Lewis Lambert Strether to Europe in pursuit of Chad Newsome, his widowed fiancée''s supposedly wayward son; he is to bring the young man back to the family business, but he encounters unexpected complications. The third-person narrative is told exclusively from Strether''s point of view.