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Collected Stories: Volume Two
Encompassing a period of almost fifty years, the stories of Henry James represent the most remarkable feat of sustained literary creation in modern times. For sheer richness, variety and intensity, they have no equal in fiction, enabling us to trace the evolution of a great writer in the finest detail. This collection reprints all the major stories together with many unfamiliar but equally intriguing pieces which illuminate their more celebrated companions.
Volume Two takes us from A Private Life of 1892 to James's last story, A Round of Visits, published in 1910. These are magnificent works of James's maturity – The Death of the Lion, The Altar of the Dead, The Figure in the Carpet, The Turn of the Screw, In the Cage, The Beast in the Jungle and many others – in which the deepening darkness of the author's own life casts a tragic but heroic shadow on the themes of his youth.
Volume Two takes us from A Private Life of 1892 to James's last story, A Round of Visits, published in 1910. These are magnificent works of James's maturity – The Death of the Lion, The Altar of the Dead, The Figure in the Carpet, The Turn of the Screw, In the Cage, The Beast in the Jungle and many others – in which the deepening darkness of the author's own life casts a tragic but heroic shadow on the themes of his youth.
1168 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 17, 2025
I read the following 7 stories this time around — several of which were rereads (much needed and long delayed). At his best, his short stories are classics; but not all survive that cut. There will be no surprises here:
Henry James, “The Beast in the Jungle” (1903) [6]
Henry James, “The Altar of the Dead” (1895) [5.5]
Henry James, “The Middle Years” (1893) [5.5]
Henry James, “The Figure in the Carpet” (1896) [5.5]
Henry James, “The Real Thing” (1892) [4+]
Henry James, “The Real Right Thing” (1899) [3.5]
Henry James, “The Tree of Knowledge” (1900) [3.5] — this story is not in this collection for some reason.
Henry James, “The Beast in the Jungle” (1903) [6]
Henry James, “The Altar of the Dead” (1895) [5.5]
Henry James, “The Middle Years” (1893) [5.5]
Henry James, “The Figure in the Carpet” (1896) [5.5]
Henry James, “The Real Thing” (1892) [4+]
Henry James, “The Real Right Thing” (1899) [3.5]
Henry James, “The Tree of Knowledge” (1900) [3.5] — this story is not in this collection for some reason.
October 13, 2024
segundo volume dos contos e novelas curtas de james, abrangendo o período de 1892 a 1910. já li o estranho “owen wingrave”, uma variação sobre a tradicional ghost story e tive uma surpresa com “the middle years”, james no seu melhor; entre estas mil páginas estão aqui também obras-primas como “the turn of the screw” e “the beast in the jungle”.
July 13, 2026
I found this much harder going than volume 1.
The Leon Edel biography notes that James moved from longhand to dictation sometime in this period and whilst I am no scholar it did seem to me that things got a bit waffly(er) a few stories into this collection.
I’m about half way through at the time of writing and will finish but at a reduced rate of consumption over the next few weeks.
The Leon Edel biography notes that James moved from longhand to dictation sometime in this period and whilst I am no scholar it did seem to me that things got a bit waffly(er) a few stories into this collection.
I’m about half way through at the time of writing and will finish but at a reduced rate of consumption over the next few weeks.
Want to Read
March 17, 2021Read so far:
*The Private Life (1892)
The Real Thing (1892)--4
*Owen Wingrave (1892)
*The Middle Years (1893)
*The Death of the Lion (1894)
*The Coxon Fund (1894)
*The Next Time (1895)
*The Altar of the Dead (1895)
*The Figure in the Carpet (1896)
*The Turn of the Screw (1898)
*In the Cage (1898)
The Real Right Thing (1899)--2
*The Great Good Place (1900)
Miss Gunton of Poughkeepsie (1900)
*The Abasement of the Northmores (1900)
The Special Type (1900)
*The Tone of Time (1900)
*The Two Faces (1900)
The Beldonald Holbein (1901)
The Story in It (1902)
Flickerbridge (1902)
*The Beast in the Jungle (1903)
The Papers (1903)
*Fordham Castle (1904)
*Julia Bride (1908)
The Jolly Corner (1908)--2
Crapy Cornelia (1909)
The Bench of Desolation (1909)
A Round of Visits (1910)
***
*Greville Fane (1892)
*The Friends of the Friends (1896)
*Europe (1899)
*Paste (1899)
*The Third Person (1900)
The Tree of Knowledge (1900)--2
*The Private Life (1892)
The Real Thing (1892)--4
*Owen Wingrave (1892)
*The Middle Years (1893)
*The Death of the Lion (1894)
*The Coxon Fund (1894)
*The Next Time (1895)
*The Altar of the Dead (1895)
*The Figure in the Carpet (1896)
*The Turn of the Screw (1898)
*In the Cage (1898)
The Real Right Thing (1899)--2
*The Great Good Place (1900)
Miss Gunton of Poughkeepsie (1900)
*The Abasement of the Northmores (1900)
The Special Type (1900)
*The Tone of Time (1900)
*The Two Faces (1900)
The Beldonald Holbein (1901)
The Story in It (1902)
Flickerbridge (1902)
*The Beast in the Jungle (1903)
The Papers (1903)
*Fordham Castle (1904)
*Julia Bride (1908)
The Jolly Corner (1908)--2
Crapy Cornelia (1909)
The Bench of Desolation (1909)
A Round of Visits (1910)
***
*Greville Fane (1892)
*The Friends of the Friends (1896)
*Europe (1899)
*Paste (1899)
*The Third Person (1900)
The Tree of Knowledge (1900)--2
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews