'There's no baseness I wouldn't commit for Jeffrey Aspern's sake.'
The poet Aspern, long since dead, has left behind some private papers.
They are jealously guarded by an old lady, once his mistress and muse, a recluse in an old palazzo in Venice, tended by her ingenuous niece.
A predatory critic is determined to seize them.
What can he make of the younger woman?
What are his motives? What are the papers worth and what is he prepared to pay?
In all four stories collected here, including 'The Death of the Lion', 'The Figure in the Carpet', and 'The Birthplace', the figure of the artist is central.
Extraordinarily prophetic, James explores the emergent new cult of the writer as celebrity, and asks, who cares about the work for itself?
Can the man behind the artist ever truly be known, and does our knowledge explain the act of creativity? This new edition includes extracts from James's Prefaces and Notebooks which shed light on the genesis of the stories.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
By:
Henry James Edited by:
Adrian Poole (Professor of English Literature University of Cambridge) Imprint: Worlds Classics Country of Publication: United Kingdom Dimensions:
Height: 195mm,
Width: 135mm,
Spine: 13mm
Weight: 202g ISBN:9780199639878 ISBN 10: 0199639876 Series:Oxford World's Classics Pages: 288 Publication Date:14 February 2013 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
