Tag Archives: henry james

What Maisie Knew – Henry James

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In his preface to What Maisie Knew James sets out, at some length, both his intention and the technical difficulties involved. Having understood the gist, if not the minutiae, of James’ explanation I suppose it was not surprising that the novel itself should create a similar effect.

Maisie is a little girl cursed with bitterly divorced and rancorous parents. Custody of Maisie is by turns withheld and imposed, as Maisie is shuttled between parents in a manner calculated by each to most incommode the other.

[...] the little girl [was] disposed of in a manner worthy of the judgement-seat of Solomon. She was divided in two and the portions tossed impartially to the disputants.

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How Fiction Works – James Wood

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How Fiction Works pursues parallel paths which pair the methods of construction of fiction with a history of the progression of the form of the novel.

In pursuit of the former, Wood addresses, primarily, indirect free style, metaphor, character and realism. Of these it is his deliberations on indirect free style which are the most fascinating, particularly in the literary choices he makes to illustrate his convictions. Henry James’ What Maisie Knew has already wheedled its way onto my book shelf on the strength of Wood’s words.
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The Friends of the Friends – Henry James

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In The Friends of the Friends, as he does in The Turn of the Screw, James creates a ghost out of the psychology of his characters.

The narrator is slow to reveal herself, but she is one of the friends with whom the friends are friends. Following? This is how the story goes, no names, but lots of friends of friends. Despite this, James is less verbose than in many of his offerings, and his sentence structure is perfectly straightforward.

The narrator has two friends, both of whom are reputed to have seen ghostly beings materialise as the life of the associated corporeal form fails. The narrator, amongst others, attempts to bring these two people together for no very lucid reason, besides this perceived similarity. Every attempt to engineer this meeting fails, which gives rise, if not to speculation, at least to a potent awareness.

It is from this series of coincidences, combined with the particular psychology of the narrator, that a further ghost will evolve. In a sense the ghost manifests in the interstice between the two primary characters, but assumes a quite different appearance when regarded from each of their opposing viewpoints. It is a fantastic tale in both senses of that word, perfectly executed, and a delight to read.

The Woman in Black – Susan Hill

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First a disclaimer. I love both Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Gilman’s The Yellow Wall-Paper, I enjoyed House of Leaves and I cannot fault Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. So when I say I don’t like ghost stories that is not entirely accurate. But you will notice that the above named have an element in common: a psychological escape clause for the sceptic-reader. (That would be me.)

Since I have tacitly admitted that I only like ghost stories with no ghosts in them you might wonder why I chose to read this. The short answer: I didn’t!
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The Aspern Papers – Henry James

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The Aspern Papers sits in that grey area, uncomfortable for the serial classificist, between novel and novella. We’ll call it a novella. Either way, it is a delightful piece, and is jostling Daisy Miller for top runner on my list of favourite Jamesian works. (Having only read four there isn’t a lot of competition, but What Maisy Knew is a strong contender for expanding the field in the near future.)

The Aspern Papers follows a man, who may or may not be young, of assumed name (neither his ‘nom de guerre‘ nor its predecessor are made available) who is an editor of a late, great poet, one Jeffrey Aspern. There are parallels with Nabokov’s Pale Fire which would have assured my interest even had James’ novella failed to do so in its own right.
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Washington Square – Henry James

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Motherless heiress, daughter of Doctor Sloper, a successful New York physician, Catherine Sloper is, seen through her father’s eyes, unattractive and unintelligent. Her Aunt, who also fails to meet Doctor Sloper’s high standards, appears to turn a blind eye to these deficiencies, intent as she is on enjoying a vicarious romance through Catherine’s agencies. It is hardly surprising then that the advent of handsome, if rakish, Morris Townsend, and his ostensible devotion, should turn Catherine’s head, excite Aunt Lavinia’s dearest expectations and provoke Doctor Sloper’s deepest cynicism.
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The Turn of the Screw – Henry James

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My copy of The Turn of the Screw is a dated beige Penguin Popular Classic, which must go some way to excusing a lack of mindfulness of the content. I recalled ghosts and a faint feeling of dissatisfaction. Oh. And the word ‘silly’ seemed to feature quite strongly in my recollection. Which probably does not reflect my early attitude to Henry James, but rather a somewhat supercillious distaste for all things supernatural.

However, reading The Turn of the Screw in the context of The Haunting of Hill House rendered this reader considerably more receptive to the possibilities.
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