TALES OF HENRY JAMES

The nine tales in this revised Norton Critical Edition represent the major dimensions of Henry James's achievement as a fiction writer. Taken from every phase of his long career, these tales exemplify formal variations, varied points of view, and many of James's favorite subjects and themes - gender, class, and the rise of information technology; problems encountered by writers and artists; the human haunted by ghosts, visible and invisible; the risks to children in an adult world; and tyranny in its many guises.

The Author on His Craft" is introduced by editorial commentary and includes James's important critical essay "The Art of Fiction," an early statement of the principles and methods he maintained throughout his career. Also included are passages from James's notebooks in which he describes the impetus for individual tales and selections from his prefaces to the New York Edition, which provide James's later perspectives on the tales. The "Criticism" section is entirely new and includes nine essays by critics who, during the last twenty-five years, have helped to establish the terms of debate about James's tales.