The Aspern Papers

By: Henry James

Narrated by: Jeremy Northam

One of the wittiest and most scathing of Henry James' novellas, The Aspern Papers chronicles the attempt to extract the valuable letters of the famous and recently deceased poet Jeffrey Aspern from the hands of his past lover and formidable adversary in the battle, Juliana Bordereau.

The plot was reputedly suggested to James by a story he heard of an illicit attempt to get hold of several of Lord Byron's letters. Set in a gloriously described Venice, James winds the tension of the story around the efforts of the annoymous and amoral hero to enveigle his way into the trust of Bordereau via the arms of her spinster sister. The suspense of the tale builds right up until the last moment of the story with a beautiful twist in the tale.

James himself hated any form of intrusion into his privacy, and the sense of danger with which he fills the story as the papers get closer to being obtained and published stirs the suspense of the story right up until the last minute, when the beautiful twist in the tale is revealed.

Public Domain (P)2007 Silksoundbooks Limited

Northam is a great narrator days

It’s a grand story - well read . James is not appreciated as much these days. Pity

What a fantastic narrator

Excellent reading of this compelling Henry James novella.
xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

Perfect

Henry James writes beautifully the truth of human nature and human experience. He is divine.

classic well read

details of a certain time in Venice with a difficult set of characters at cross purposes, all exquisitely subtle and deliberate in every word and movement. Money, fame, loss, regret

Great story

A wonderful setting (Venice) and very original, well drawn characters. Henry James at his best.