Henry James Knihy

Sladká Francie přinese obdivovatelům ovoce výlučně jako celek, a proto není moudré omezovat její krásy na pozlátko předváděné v Paříži. Svérázné kouty této různorodé země uhranuly i vyznavači pitoreskna Henrymu Jamesovi, a tak se jimi jako nejslavnější americký reprezentant zjemnělé tradice konce devatenáctého století kochá s týmž zaujetím, jaké ve svých románech věnoval třeba ladným liniím kávového šálku. Mladík z dobré newyorské rodiny, pro nějž byla francouzština vstupenkou do Starého světa, přitom prokáže sympatie k joie de vivre francouzského Jihu, elegantní styl a bystrozrak znalce umění. Ale ať už se toulavý spisovatel zabývá nabubřelostí některých zámků na Loiře, rozebírá rekonstrukci středověké pevnosti v Carcassonne či linie nejznámějších katedrál, ať obhlíží antické památky v Provenci nebo jen na pláži v Normandii glosuje rovnostářské poměry třetí francouzské republiky, vysvítá zpod tohoto něžného pošklebování cosi vážného, co předčí i zápisky jeho předchůdce Stendhala. James si cení neopakovatelného kouzla, jímž hostitelská země dýchá a jež je třeba uchovat, protože na něj poutník jinde na světě nenarazí. S odstupem jednoho a čtvrt století vypovídají autorovy črty mimo jiné o pravém smyslu moderního „bytí na cestě“, které se pod tlakem rychlosti a banalit změnilo v uniformní turistickou zábavu pro masy.

Henry James, narozený v Americe a později žijící v Británii, se ve své próze často zabývá tématy přesídlení Američanů do Evropy a reakcemi na starší evropskou civilizaci, včetně motivu „kažení nevinnosti“. Hlavní postavou je mladá Američanka Isabel Archerová, kterou po smrti otce přiveze teta do Anglie. Isabel, krásná a inteligentní, má mnoho nápadníků, ale odmítá nabídky, včetně sňatku s bohatým přítelem bratrance Ralpha, který je do ní zamilovaný, avšak kvůli nemoci se ženit nechce. V Římě se setkává s Gilbertem Osmondem, lehkovážným a sobeckým mužem, který vidí v Isabel příležitost k sňatku, neboť zdědila peníze po strýci. Isabel se do něj zamiluje a vezme si ho, přičemž ji k tomu podnítí i pletichářská madam Merlová. Později se dozvídá, že Osmondova dcera Pansy je také dcerou madam Merlové. Isabelin život se s manželstvím s Osmondem mění v utrpení, přesto se rozhodne setrvat, i když ji bývalý snoubenec láká k útěše. James zde zobrazuje střet mezi nezkaženou Isabel a sobeckými postavami, což vytváří dramatické situace a podtrhuje rozdíly v hodnotovém žebříčku amerického a evropského způsobu života, čímž se dílo stává vynikajícím příkladem moderní klasiky.

Novely tvoří vedle monumentálních románů druhé ohnisko díla Henryho Jamese. Tento svazek nabízí čtyři skvosty, jež dosud česky nevyšly. V kleci: Mladá žena – londýnská telegrafistka, zajatá „v kleci“ malinkaté poštovní pobočky – dešifruje v telegramech, které jí procházejí rukama, záchytné body soukromých životů. Nakonec se dozví víc, než si možná přála vědět. Školák: Předčasně vyzrálý chlapec, který vyrůstá v ulhané a rodině, se spřátelí se svým domácím učitelem, jediným dospělým, jemuž věří. Vyústění příběhu evokuje klasickou tragédii. Autor Beltraffia: Makabrózní zpráva, již o zoufalých rozbrojích uvnitř rodiny populárního anglického romanopisce podává jeho mladý americký ctitel. Oltář mrtvých: Protagonista příběhu se snaží uchovat vzpomínku na své mrtvé přátele, aby je uchránil před úplným zapomenutím v ruchu každodenních událostí. Potkává ženu, která jeho ideály sdílí – a poté zjistí, že mezi ně minulost položila nepřekročitelnou bariéru.

Příběh malé Maisie je vyprávění o holčičce, kterou rozvodový soud nepřiřkl ani jen matce, ani otci. Střídavě má pobývat u obou. Rozvedení rodiče v ní zprvu vidí báječný prostředek pro svou pomstychtivost, ale po čase o ni ztrácejí zájem, a Maisie postupně začíná lnout k svým nevlastním rodičům, novým partnerům otce a matky, ke staré guvernantce paní Wixové i dalšímu služebnictvu. Vztahy jejich rodičů, vlastních i nevlastních, vstupují stále do nových kombinací, a Maisie –⁠ s vrozenou nevinností –⁠ uprostřed střetávajícího se světa dospělých je ponechána, aby si sama vytvořila jakýsi citlivý pohled na dobro a zlo.

Drama lidského osudu zachycené s mimořádnou citlivostí je autorovým nejčtivějším románem. Třiadvacetiletá Catherine Sloperová, dcera vyhledávaného newyorského lékaře, je podle morálky vrcholného „zlatého věku“ zralá na vdávání. Je ale na soužití v páru skutečně připravená? Když na večírku pozná sympatického Morrise Townsenda, propadne bezhlavě jeho kouzlu. Otec jejich vztahu nepřeje, poněvadž se právem domnívá, že švihákovi povzbuzovanému dívčinou tetou jde čistě o peníze. Dceři pohrozí, že ji vydědí, pokud by si nápadníka tajně vzala. Neprůbojná, zároveň však neústupná Catherine svádí niterný boj mezi oddaností a probuzenou láskou, tápe a dusí v sobě city ve víře, že se rozpor vyřeší. Baladu o zmařených námluvách povýšil Henry James v beletristický klenot elegantní stejně jako manhattanské náměstí, do jehož parků a salonů děj zasadil. Čtveřice aktérů nazíraná pomocí techniky proudu vědomí ukazuje, na čem staví autorovo mistrovství. Pronikavé vidění autora – zakladatele psychologického románu – s výjimečnou vnímavostí demaskuje mělkost jejich motivací i iluze živené sebeklamem, proti nimž lze postavit pouze namáhavou snahu o dosažení životní rovnováhy. Jamesova jemná próza přináší působivou zprávu o stavu duše, jakou na americké straně Atlantiku nesepsal nikdo předtím.

Ve dvaadvaceti črtách z cest, které shrnul do svazku Italské hodiny, skládá moderní americký klasik Henry James ódu na milovanou Itálii se stejnou zevrubností, s jakou se v psychologických prózách zajímá o „dům lidské duše“. Zvláštní stav „mysli na toulkách“ ponouká autora zkoumat povahu civilizačního jevu zvaného turismus. Během čtyřicetiletého putování po zemi, jež zažila vzestup i pád nejslavnější starověké říše a zvedá se z popela jako znovusjednocený stát, neuniknou Jamesovu bystrozraku ani první excesy masového cestování v časech, kdy se na silnicích teprve začínaly ozývat klaksony automobilů a památková péče byla v plenkách. Čtenář užasne, nakolik jsou autorovy postřehy stále aktuální jak na nejnavštěvovanějších místech Itálie, tak v zákoutích daleko od hlučícího davu. Ale ať už se James trefuje do babylonského srocení na benátské laguně, ať si dobírá politické poměry odrážející se v ulicích věčného Říma, ať se kochá zaostalostí venkova nebo se koří tisícileté kráse Florencie, Sieny či Ravenny, poslouží milovníkovi Itálie jako zasvěcený průvodce nejvyšší třídy. Estetická vnímavost se v jeho osobitém náhledu snoubí s jiskrným nadhledem a tradicí anglosaského humoru, a tak výsledek této vášně k sladké Itálii zastiňuje cestopisy jeho nejtoulavějších amerických předchůdců: Marka Twaina a Hermana Melvilla.

Jemnou psychologickou kresbou vystihl autor hrdiny svého prostinkého příběhu, odehrávajícího se v Benátkách ve starém romantickém paláci, obývaném pouze dvěma starými ženami. Do tohoto prostředí přichází literární kritik, který usilovně pátrá a snaží se zmocnit rukopisných památek po slavném zesnulém spisovateli.

Henrymu Jamesovi je v Anglii dobře, tak dobře, že ji poctil magií výřečnosti, v níž svého času nenašel mezi Američany konkurenta. Při objevování krás země, kterou coby odchovanec měšťanského New Yorku na sklonku života přijal za náhradní vlast, se jeho bystrozrak uplatní nejen ve chvílích, kdy se fascinovaně zahledí na Londýn, babylonskou podstatou děsivý a zároveň lákavý mumraj lidských typů. Jasnozřivě se projeví i na vrcholcích majestátních útesů, na sedačce obyčejné lokálky, na chodbách sirotčince nebo na výpravách, při nichž spisovatel z pozic vlažného křesťana glosuje zdánlivě ustrnulý klid zdejších katedrálních městeček. Stranou od projevů rodícího se masového turismu putuje autor pěšky, na bicyklu i ve člunu za dávnou historií ostrovní velmoci, jelikož malebné trosky ohlodané zubem času ho odedávna vábí nejvíc. Kráčí ve stopách kolegů Thackerayho, Dickense či Scotta a všímá si pozůstatků „veselé Anglie“ ze Shakespearových dob. To dědictví je přece patrné i nadále: v rozkochání pozdní viktoriánské éry, která se navzdory útlocitně pěstěné uměřenosti tak ráda baví, zvlášť když se namane neděle, park, neřkuli dostih v Derby. Angličan svého času vynašel způsob, jak pohodlně žít a současně si uhájit čest i svobodu volby – a o tom jednadvacet črt láskyplně ostřených Jamesovou „dvojitě broušenou ironií“ vypovídá ze všeho nejvíc.

Duchařské příběhy tvoří necelou desetinu povídkářské tvorby Henryho Jamese, přitom dobře ilustrují její postupný rozvoj, rané strašidelné příběhy jako „Romance o starých šatech“ (1868) či „Nájemné od ducha” (1876) se časem psychologizují a nabývají na složitosti, pozdější „Přátelé přátel“ (1896) upomínají na známou novelu Utažení šroubu a pozdní „Veselé nároží“ (1908) se vyznačuje propracovanou strukturou a existenciálním přesahem.

Jamesova próza Utažení šroubu z roku 1898 sice nese jasné hororové prvky, její vyznění a symbolické poselství je však mnohem složitější než u běžného duchařského příběhu. Hlavní zápletka je přitom vcelku průzračná – guvernantka osiřelých sourozenců zjistí, že pravý život jejích svěřenců se odehrává ve spojení s již mrtvými osobami, sluhou a bývalou vychovatelkou. I ona se s nimi setkává, chce děti před přízraky ochránit, ale neúmyslně tak způsobí neodvratitelnou tragédii. „Mámo co dělat s příběhem,“ napsal o knize překladatel Radoslav Nenadál, „který přerůstá ve varovné podobenství o škodlivosti násilí a všech překážek stavěných do cesty svobodného rozvoje mladého člověka… Není však třeba vůbec zapotřebí tento homosexuální podtext zvlášť zdůrazňovat nebo se o něj přít, stačí brát tíhnutí dětí k oněm přízrakům krásných rozesněných nocí, které guvernantce naopak připadají tak úděsné, jako touhu po realizaci dětské fantazie, a především po právu na vlastní volbu toho, jaký budu a jaký cítím, že musím být… James předvedl krajní případ. Nemůže-li mladý člověk žít dál tak, jak odpovídá jeho představám a jeho bytostnému založení, hyne jako květina ve tmě nebo v suchu.“...

Novela Henryho Jamese z roku 1878, Daisy Millerová, pojednává o mladé ženě, která svým liberálním chováním pobuřovala viktoriánskou společnost. James staví do kontrastu psychologii mladé ženy a tradice společnosti, v níž je Daisy Millerová jasně na okraji. V dopisech James Daisy označil za oběť „společenského kraválu“, jehož si ona sama buď vůbec nevšímá, nebo v něm vězí až po krk.V kontextu romantického příběhu vyvstává paradox ze života autora. Henry James se totiž nikdy neoženil a zůstává otázkou, zda vůbec někdy prožil nějaký milostný vztah. V roce 1974 byla novela zfilmována Peterem Bogdanovichem se Cybill Shepherdovou v hlavní roli.

Tři novely (Daisy Millerová, Mistrova lekce, Šelma v džungli) angloamerického spisovatele (1843–1916), jenž svým dílem razil cestu psychologickému realismu. Společným rysem novel je to, „že obsahují příběhy velkých životních nedorozumění a omylů, jejichž následky vyznívají tu tragicky, tu komicky“.

(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed) Contents of Volume 1 A Landscape-PainterA Light ManA Passionate PilgrimThe Madonna of the FutureMadame de MauvesBenvolioDaisy Miller: A StudyAn International EpisodeThe Pension BeaurepasThe Point of ViewThe Siege of LondonLady BarberinaThe Author of "Beltraffio"Louisa PallantThe Aspern PapersThe LiarThe Lesson of the MasterThe PatagoniaThe PupilThe MarriagesThe ChaperonSir Edmund Orme

Henry James, a pivotal figure in late 19th-century literature, was known for his unique narrative style, often employing a character's perspective to convey stories, akin to impressionist painting. Born in the U.S. to a clergyman and brother of philosopher William James, he spent most of his life in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915. His literary criticism emphasized the importance of creative freedom for writers, reflecting his belief in diverse interpretations of the world. His familial connections also included his sister, Alice, a fellow writer.

Are there ghosts at Bly, or is the governess going mad? A young woman starts her first job as a governess in charge of two young orphans, Miles and Flora, at a country house called Bly. The children are beautiful and well-behaved, but are they too good to be true? When the governess starts to experience strange visions, she suspects that the children are hiding a terrible secret. Sú tu v Bly duchovia, alebo sa opatrovateľka zbláznila? Mladá žena nastúpila prvýkrát do práce ako opatrovateľka, ktorá má na starosti dve malé siroty, Milesa a Floru, žijúce vo vidieckom dome zvanom Bly. Deti sú úžasné a vychované, ale nie je to príliš dobré, aby to bola pravda? Keď začne opatrovateľka vidieť zvláštne veci, začne tušiť, že deti majú desivé tajomstvo.

"For other novelists the value of Henry James's Notebooks is immense and to brood over them a major experience. The glow of the great impresario is on the pages. They are occasionally readable and endlessly stimulating, often moving and are ocasionally relieved by a drop of gossip."—V. S. Pritchett, New Statesman "The Notebooks take us into his study, and here we can observe him, at last, in the very act of creation at his writing table."—Leon Edel, Atlantic Monthly "A document of prime importance."—Edmund Wilson, New Yorker

Originally published over a century ago, this classical work has been deemed significant throughout history. Alpha Editions has undertaken the task of preserving it for future generations by republishing it in a modern format. The book has been meticulously reformatted, retyped, and designed to ensure clarity and readability, avoiding the use of scanned copies.

This classic collection includes the British author's most influential works, from The Portrait of a Lady to the Aspern Papers. Part of a beautiful series of classic fiction, this title brings Henry James back to life and reminds the world just what a wonderful writer he was.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. The Wings of the Dove, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. Kate and Densher are in love and want to get married. Densher is a poor journalist, and Kate's aunt tells her that she must marry someone rich. But Kate has a plan. She decides to deceive Milly, a sweet young heiress who is very ill. She wants Milly to marry Densher so he can get her money after she dies. Will Kate's plan succeed?

Exploring the craft of writing, this collection features Henry James's insightful essays, including the renowned "The Art of Fiction." Delving into the works of literary giants like George Eliot, Ivan Turgenev, and Honoré de Balzac, James's writings are characterized by their wit, erudition, and fervor. This selection offers a rich experience for anyone who appreciates the intricacies of literature and the art of storytelling.

Washington Square, The portrait of a lady, The Bostonians.

The book is a reproduction of a historical work, presented in large print to enhance accessibility for readers with impaired vision. Published by Megali, a house dedicated to making historical texts more readable, this edition aims to preserve the original while catering to the needs of those who may struggle with standard print sizes.

Hyacinth Robinson, a talented bookbinder, becomes entwined in radical politics after meeting revolutionary Paul Muniment and the enchanting Princess Casamassima. As he grapples with his commitment to a terrorist assassination, he finds himself torn between love and ideology.

Travelling in Europe with her family, Daisy Miller, an exquisitely beautiful young American woman, presents her fellow-countryman Winterbourne with a dilemma he cannot resolve. Is she deliberately flouting social convention in the outspoken way she talks and acts, or is she simply ignorant of those conventions? When she strikes up an intimate friendship with an urbane young Italian, her flat refusal to observe the codes of respectable behaviour leave her perilously exposed. In Daisy Miller James created his first great portrait of the enigmatic and dangerously independent American woman, a figure who would come to dominate his later masterpieces.

Romantic entanglements unfold throughout the narrative, showcasing a range of relationships and emotional complexities. As the characters navigate their connections, the story builds towards a nuanced yet satisfying conclusion, reflecting the intricacies of love and confidence in human interactions. Henry James weaves a tale that balances realism with the charm of romance, making for an engaging read.

The American expatriate novelist recounts his childhood, his personal discovery of Europe, his work as a writer, and his famous family

Henry James was not only a novelist who wrote with the elegance of Marcel Proust, he was also a renowned travel writer and wrote prolifically for a dedicated following in American magazines, newspapers and journals. In this volume his best work on Italy, Britain, and the US was collected for a wider audience.

A gripping prequel to R. D. Wingfield's A TOUCH OF FROST, perfect for fans of David Jason's Jack Frost and readers who love Stuart MacBride, Peter James and Lynda La Plante. November 1982. Itâe(tm)s been one of the worst days of DS Jack Frostâe(tm)s life. He has buried his wife Mary, and must now endure the wake, attended by all of Dentonâe(tm)s finest. All, that is, apart from DC Sue Clarke, who has been summoned to the discovery of a human foot in a farmerâe(tm)s field. And things get worse. Local entrepreneur Harry Baskin is shot inside his club and a valuable painting goes missing. As the week goes on, a cyclist is found dead in suspicious circumstances. Frost is on the case, but another disaster âe" one he is entirely unprepared for âe" is about to strikeâe¦

Henry James, an influential Anglo-American novelist, was a key literary figure of the late 19th century. Born to a clergyman, he was part of a notable intellectual family, including his brother William, a psychologist, and sister Alice, a writer. Although he spent his early years in the U.S., he later became a British citizen. James's narrative style often reflects a character's perspective, drawing comparisons to impressionist art. He advocated for creative freedom in literature, emphasizing the importance of individual viewpoints in storytelling.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. Washington Square, a Level 4 Reader, is A2+ in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing more complex uses of present perfect simple, passives, phrasal verbs and simple relative clauses. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. Catherine Sloper is not pretty or clever, but she is rich. She lives in New York with her father, the respected doctor, Austin Sloper. One day, Catherine meets a charming man called Maurice Townsend, who wants to marry her. But does Maurice really love Catherine, or does he just want her money? Doctor Sloper is sure that he knows the answer.

The second in the prequel series to R D Wingfield's A TOUCH OF FROST, for fans of David Jason's Jack Frost and crime-fiction readers.

An original novel in which Henry James, Edith Wharton, Sigmund Freud, and Carl Jung meet in a plot of sex, love, murder, and memory. Only erudite inspector Maurice Le Blanc is able to cope with the literary and psychological geniuses who are involved in this murder case.

Wingfield's A TOUCH OF FROST, for anyone who loved watching David Jason as Jack Frost, and readers of sharply plotted detective crime novels. Denton is preparing for a wedding, with less than a week to go until Detective Sergeant Waters marries Kim Myles.

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

Eugenia, Baroness Munster, wife of a German princeling who wishes to be rid of her, crosses the ocean with her brother Felix to seek out their American relatives. Their voyage is prompted - so Eugenia says - by natural affection; but the Baroness has also come to seek her fortune. The advent of these visitors is viewed by the Wentworths, in the suburbs of Boston, with wonder and some apprehension. Of these, not the least alarming is the fascination exerted by the brilliant Eugenia on her impressionable cousins and their more wordly neighbor, Robert Acton. Can her restless spirit, which might find a safe haven in the New Englander's solid wealth, anchor itself to their solid principles? Or, as the Baroness phrases the question, who are these people, to whom fibbing is not pleasing? While Eugenia seems set permanently to unsetle them all, Felix, painter of trifling sketches, would diffuse among his hosts a healing charm, easing them in and out of various amorous complications, he has, as one might say of the novel itself, 'no fear of not being, in the end, agreeable.' The text of this World's Classics paperback is based on the first English edition (1878).

A body on an embankment. A blast at a farmhouse. A burden on Colchester CID

Henry James was arguably the greatest practitioner of what has been called the psychological ghost story. This edition includes all ten of his tales in this genre.

Denton, 1981. Britain is in recession, the IRA is becoming increasingly active and the country's on alert for an outbreak of rabies. Detective Sergeant Jack Frost is working under his mentor and inspiration DI Bert Williams, and coping badly with his increasingly strained marriage. Probably not helped by the fact that he never goes home...

Companion in themes, period and setting to What Maisie Knew, The Awkward Age is another of Henry James's studies of innocence exposed to currupting influences.

The third novel in the Essex-based series - a real estate deal, a racist, and the Robin Hood pub hold the key to a killing...

Milly Theale, 'the heiress of all the ages', is imaged as a dove, a princess, a Renaissance beauty, but these symbols come at a dreadful cost. By the end of the novel we know, 'We shall never be again as we were'.

The close relationship between American millionaire Adam Venuer and his daughter Maggie threatens their respective marriages

This light-hearted masterpiece tells of the influence Eugenia and her brother Felix exert on their Bostonian cousins when they visit the New World. In the hope of making a wealthy marriage, Eugenia, the Baroness Münster, and her younger brother, the artist Felix, descend on the Wentworths, in Boston. Installed in a nearby house, they become close friends with the younger Wentworths - Gertrude, Charlotte and Clifford. Eugenia's wit, guile and sophistication, and Felix's debonair vivacity from an uneasy alliance with the Puritan morality and the frugal, domestic virtues of the Americans. A rich and delicately balanced comedy of manners, The Europeans weighs the values of the established order against those of New England society, but makes no simple judgements, only subtle contrasts and beautifully observed comparisons. Librarian note: alternative cover edition - ISBN 0140621954

In The turn of the Screw, the story unfolds with the arrival of a new governess at a remote country estate. She has been hired by the uncle of two young orphans to take complete charge of the children's lives and upbringing. Her first peaceful weeks are disturbed by the apparition of the ghosts of two evil servants who once served in the house. In Daisy Miller, a young American traveling abroad for the first time, openly ignores the rigid European social code of the day and earns the disapproval of her fellow Americans.

Preparing to marry, Owen Gereth asks his widowed mother to move out of the family manse, leaving its glorious objects to him and his bride. Mrs Gereth disapproves of her would-be daughter-in-law and enlists a young friend named Fleda Vetch to save the collectibles and her son.

Jeden z nejslavnějších románů 19. století. Emma Bovaryová je obětí středostavovských konvencí poloviny 19. století. Jako mladou romantickou dívku ji provdali za venkovského lékaře, a ona tak příliš záhy poznává ubíjející monotónnost manželského života. Snaží se před nudou uniknoutmalým flirtem a marnotratnými nákupy, což značně otřese rodinným rozpočtem. Zoufalá Ema tvrdě doplácí na svou naivitu, ocitá se v dluzích a marně hledá schůdné řešení... 01-022-6613/32

In the hope of making a wealthy marriage, Eugenia, the Baroness M©ơnster, and her younger brother, the artist Felix, descend on the Wentworths, in Boston. Installed in a nearby house, they become close friends with the younger Wentworths, Gertrude, Charlotte and Clifford. Eugenia's wit, guile and sophistication, and Felix's debonair vivacity form an uneasy alliance with the Puritan morality and the frugal, domestic virtues of the Americans. A rich and delicately balanced commedy of manners, The Europeans weighs the values of the established order against thos of New England society, but makes no simple judgements, only subtle contrasts and beautifully observed comparisons.

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. Visit the Penguin Readers website Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys. A young woman accepts her first job as a governess and goes to Bly, a large country house in England. There she teaches a young brother and sister. But the governess soon starts to see ghosts and tries to protect the children from them.

'A fast-moving thriller. I was totally absorbed by it' ELLY GRIFFITHS 'Vivid and compelling, with great evocation of the 1980s period' PETER JAMES 'A masterclass in place and landscape' CHRISTIE WATSON PERFECT FOR FANS OF PETER JAMES AND STUART MACBRIDE. January 1983, Blackwater Estuary A new year brings a new danger to the Essex shoreline. An illicit shipment, bound for Colchester - 100 kilograms of powder that will frantically accelerate tensions in the historic town, and leave its own murderous trace. Detective Inspector Nick Lowry, and his fellow officers Daniel Kenton and Jane Gabriel must now develop a tolerance to one another, and show their own substance, to save Britain's oldest settlement from a new, unsettling enemy.

This brilliant satire of the women’s rights movement in America is the story of the ravishing inspirational speaker Verena Tarrant and the bitter struggle between two distant cousins who seek to control her. Will the privileged Boston feminist Olive Chancellor succeed in turning her beloved ward into a celebrated activist and lifetime companion? Or will Basil Ransom, a conservative southern lawyer, steal Verena’s heart and remove her from the limelight? “ The Bostonians has a vigor and blithe wit found nowhere else in James,” writes A. S. Byatt in her Introduction. “It is about idealism in a democracy that is still recovering from a civil war bitterly fought for social ideals . . . [written] with a ferocious, precise, detailed—and wildly comic—realism.”

On the occasion of the centenary of the Master's death, a new collection of the acclaimed novelist's travel writing, taking readers from the American towns of upstate New York to villages in rural Tuscany.

Regarded by many as James's greatest achievement in short fiction, "The Beast in the Jungle" is a portrait of a man alienated from life and love with a secret neither he nor James can talk about. "The Jolly Corner" and "The Altar of the Dead" are two tales that explore the complex interlacings of loss, love and the ever-present past in the lives of their protagonists.

In this classic collision of the New World with Old Europe, James weaves a fable of thwarted desire that shifts between comedy, tragedy, romance, and melodrama. This revised edition features a new Introduction and Afterword by Leon Edel. Reissue.

A masterpiece by the great American realist Henry James, Daisy Miller is the story of an innocent girl's love and recognition in a society where respectable behaviour counts for everything.[Macmillan]

Daisy Miller is one of Henry James's most attractive heroines: she represents youth and frivolity. As a tourist in Italy, her American freedom and freshness of spirit come up against the corruption and hypocrisy of European manners. From its first publication, readers on both sides of the Atlantic have quarrelled about her, defending or attacking the liberties that Daisy takes and the conventions that she ignores. All three tales in this collection, Daisy Miller, An International Episode and Lady Barbarina, express James's most notable subject, 'the international theme', the encounters, romantic and cultural, between Americans and Europeans. His heroes and heroines approach each other on unfamiliar ground with new freedoms, yet find themselves unexpectedly hampered by old constraints. In An International Episode, an English lord visiting Newport, Rhode Island, falls in love with an American girl, but their relationship becomes more complicated when she travels to London. In the light-hearted comedy Lady Barbarina, a rich young American seeks an English aristocratic bride. The unusual outcomes of these three tales pose a number of social questions about marriage and the traditional roles of men and women. Is an international marriage symbolic of the highest cultural fusion of values or is it an old style raid and capture? Is marriage to remain the feminine destination?

This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition brings together one of literature's most famous ghost stories and one of Henry James's most unusual novellas. In The Turn of the Screw, a governess is haunted by ghosts from her young charges past; Virginia Woolf said of this masterpiece of psychological ambiguity and suggestion, We are afraid of something unnamed, of something, perhaps, in ourselves...Henry James...can still make us afraid of the dark.In his rarely anthologized novella In the Cage, James brings his incomparable powers of observation to the story of a clever, rebellious heroine of Britain's lower middle class. Hortense Calisher, in her Introduction, calls it a delicious story, the more so because it confounds what we expect from James.

James's troubling late-Victorian mystery of an unsolved literary riddle and sudden death has inspired endless speculation.

An unsettling new collection of Henry James's best short stories exploring ghosts and the uncanny 'There had been a moment when I believed I recognised, faint and far, the cry of a child; there had been another when I found myself just consciously starting as at the passage, before my door, of a light footstep' 'I see ghosts everywhere', wrote Henry James, who retained a fascination with the supernatural and sensational throughout his writing career. This new collection brings together eight of James's tales exploring the uncanny, including his infamous ghost story, 'The Turn of the Screw', a work saturated with evil, in which a fraught governess becomes convinced that malicious spirits are menacing the children in her care. The other masterly works here include 'The Jolly Corner', 'Owen Wingrave' and further tales of visitations, premonitions, madness, grief and family secrets, where the living are just as mysterious and unknowable as the dead. With an introduction and notes by Susie Boyt General Editor Philip Horne

Set during a weekend party at the Newmarch estate, the narrative features a first-person narrator who observes unsettling transformations among the guests. As he notes the decline of a graceful woman and the newfound charm of a previously dull man, he becomes obsessed with the idea of life force exchanges among them. This exploration of human dynamics and the complexities of social interactions showcases Henry James at his artistic peak, blending psychological insight with the peculiarities of character development.

A resourceful and prolific writer, Henry James is among the most entertaining American authors. His first five novels, included in this volume, feature sparkling dialogue, expertly timed suspense, and the romance of youthful aspiration. The contrast between European and American cultures enhances James’s keen observations, while these early works also show a notable attentiveness to the American scenes of New York and New England. His debut novel, *Watch and Ward* (1871), tells a Pygmalion-type story of a Boston gentleman who falls in love with the younger woman he is tasked with guarding. *Roderick Hudson* (1875) follows a talented American sculptor navigating the temptations of Italy, set against the backdrop of Rome's vibrant artists’ colony. Written in Paris, *The American* (1877) captures the expatriate culture and the clash between Old World traditions and New World vitality through the story of Christopher Newman, who seeks to marry the refined Madame de Cintré. In *The Europeans* (1878), a conservative New England village is humorously disrupted by two European cousins, showcasing delightful character studies. Finally, *Confidence* (1880) offers a charming portrayal of American expatriates and their romantic entanglements in Europe. This volume serves as an engaging introduction to one of the great novelists of any era.

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 MasterpieceA Most Extraordinary CaseCrawford's ConsistencyAn International EpisodeThe Impressions of a CousinThe Jolly CornerWashington SquareCrapy CorneliaA Round of Visits

Includes love stories by Colette, Walter de la Mare, Anton Chekhov, Frank O'Connor, Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh, Charlotte Bronte, Tennessee Williams, W. Somerset Maugham, Henry James, John Steinbeck, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Robert Louis Stevenson, O. Henry, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Damon Runyon, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Washington Irving, and Mrs. Gaskell, among others.

This series of readers is aimed at students at six levels from elementary to advanced. All stages have exercises for classroom or private use, plus a glossary to help with vocabulary.

In this lesser known classic James explores in miniature the themes of his major fiction, enlivened by a characteristically keen eye for character and a wry appreciation of both pretension and the absurd Blackport-on-Dwindle—"all granite, fog, and female fiction"—has been the Gedges' dull domain for some years. They leap, therefore, at the invitation to become the live-in guardians of the birthplace of their nation's literary hero. Anticipating romance and inspiration—in other words, everything that’s been lacking in their daily lives to date—they find instead that the house casts an altogether more sinister spell. Also included is "The Private Life," another little-known work in which James again considers the relevance of the artist’s persona—a theme with continued relevance in literature and the arts.

This volume features two significant works by Henry James: The Sacred Fount (1901) and The Wings of the Dove (1902). The former, noted for its first-person narrative, showcases James's unique approach as he explores the idea that individuals can draw youth or intelligence from one another. During a weekend gathering at Newmarch, the unnamed narrator becomes fixated on Grace Brissenden, believing she has rejuvenated through her husband, Guy. His quest to understand the newfound charm of Gilbert Long leads to an exploration of perception and the complexities of human interaction, challenging the essence of James's narrative style. In The Wings of the Dove, James presents a poignant tale of Milly Theale, a wealthy American heiress inspired by his cousin Minny Temple. Milly, who is aware of her impending death, becomes entangled in a plot orchestrated by the manipulative Kate Croy and her lover, Morton Densher. Their scheme, driven by mercenary motives, ultimately leads to a profound and tragic resolution, encapsulating themes of love, betrayal, innocence, and experience. This edition includes the New York Edition text and the insightful preface James wrote for it, enriching the reader's understanding of his literary legacy.

The Complete Notebooks of Henry James offers an intimate glimpse into the creative process of America's master novelist. Edited by Leon Edel, James' acclaimed biographer, and Lyall H. Powers, this definitive volume includes the nine original scribbler-notebooks published in 1947, now updated with annotations that clarify the stories James developed and reveal the identities of notable Victorians he initially concealed. The editors have restored previously omitted sections and added over 20,000 words of new material, including James' pocket diaries, which capture his observations and ideas for fiction alongside personal reflections. The collection features dictated notes where James meditates on pivotal moments in his life and a story inspired by a passion murder involving an acquaintance in France. Additionally, it includes long-out-of-print statements for unfinished works like The Ivory Tower and The Sense of the Past, scenarios for unproduced plays, notes on financial matters, and his deathbed dictation. An appendix presents a significant fragment of Hugh Merrow, an incomplete story. Through these writings, we witness the artist's inner workings, making for an exhilarating reading experience.

The Nation magazine, since its founding in 1865, began what has become, for better or worse, art criticism as a cultural institution in the United States. This eclectic collection features contributors like Christopher Hitchens on “degenerate art,” Heywood Broun on the Artists Congress of 1936, Katherine Anne Porter on children’s art, Marianne Moore on the death of Nation art critic Paul Rosenfeld, and Langston Hughes on “Negro Art.” The volume also includes contributions from many well-known Stuart Davis, Marsden Harley, Alfred Stieglitz, John Marin, Kenyon Cox, Guy Pene Du Bois, Louis Lozowick, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Celebrated writers on art such as Bernard Berenson, Clement Greenberg, Lawrence Alloway, Hilton Kramer, Max Kozloff, John Berger, and Arthur Danto give readers first-hand accounts of the debuts of artists ranging from John Singer Sargent to Jackson Pollock and Willem deKooning as well as the famous lawsuit between John Ruskin and James McNeill Whistler (reported by a youthful Henry James), the destruction of Diego Rivera’s Rockefeller Center murals and Richard Nixon’s views on art. More recently writers like E.L. Doctorow and Katha Pollitt have weighed in on the recent culture wars over arts funding and free expression.

The Turn of the Screw A very young woman's first job: governess for two weirdly beautiful, strangely distant, oddly silent children, Miles and Flora, at a forlorn estate...An estate haunted by a beckoning evil. Half-seen figures who glare from dark towers and dusty windows- silent, foul phantoms who, day by day, night by night, come closer, ever closer. With growing horror, the helpless governess realizes the fiendish creatures want the children, seeking to corrupt their bodies, possess their minds, own their souls... But worse-much worse- the governess discovers that Miles and Flora have no terror of the lurking evil. For they want the walking dead as badly as the dead want them. Washington Square The coming-of-age of its plain-faced, kindhearted heroine, Catherine Sloper. Much to her father’s vexation, a handsome opportunist named Morris Townsend woos the long-suffering heiress, intent on claiming her fortune. When Catherine stubbornly refuses to call off her engagement, Dr. Sloper forces Catherine to choose between her inheritance and the only man she will ever truly love.

A collection of 14 great short stories. A perfect companion for the long, leisurely days of summer, this special collection contains stories by six of THE GREAT WRITERS, taking you from intrigue and passion in Victorian London to the brittle gaiety of the Jazz Age.

The road grew swilder and drearier and more faintly traced, and vanished at length, leaving him in the heart of the dark wilderness... -Young Goodman Brown

The statues of Savannah's Monument Square are silent. The statue of the solemn girl in Bonaventure Cemetery -- made famous in John Berendt's blockbuster book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil -- can't speak. Only Savannah's literary monuments can give voice to the diverse history of one of America's greatest cities; one that has for centuries inspired fascination worldwide.

This is a unique edition of four "high society" Victorian comedies, currently enjoying revival on the London stage. The volume Dion Boucicault's London Assurance, W. S. Gilbert's Engaged, Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Money, and Henry James's The High Bid. Each of the plays deals with marriage, tests of affection, and the power of money.A critical introduction, a wide-ranging annotation, and an informative bibliography illuminate the plays' cultural contexts and theatrical potential for reader and performer alike.