Technique in the Tales of Henry James

Up to the present time, there have been very few attempts to analyze the subtleties of James’s narrative technique; the emphasis has generally been on thematic concerns. Krishna Vaid clarifies current misconceptions about the various categories of the tales and continues with a scrupulous examination of carefully selected texts that establishes the magnitude of James’s achievement. The author’s persuasive and informative study, stressing the importance of the relation of form to content, illuminates an area of James’s work that hitherto has not received the serious and sustained critical interpretation that it deserves. Acknowledgments Contents Introduction PART ONE. THE AUTHOR’S DEPUTY CHAPTER I. Three Early Tales CHAPTER II. Anecdotes CHAPTER III. Nouvelles (ALSO PARABLES) CHAPTER IV. The Turns of the Screw PART TWO. THE AUTHOR HIMSELF CHAPTER V. Three Early Tales CHAPTER VI. Nouvelles CHAPTER VII. Anecdotes (ALSO PARABLES) CHAPTER VIII. A Jamesian Triptych Conclusion CHRONOLOGY OF THE TALES. NOTES. INDEX Chronology of the Tales Notes Index