Encompassing a period of almost fifty years, the stories of Henry James represent the most remarkable feat of sustained literary creation in modern times. For sheer richness, variety and intensity, they have no equal in fiction, enabling us to trace the evolution of a great writer in the finest detail. This collection reprints all the major stories together with many unfamiliar but equally intriguing pieces that illuminate their more celebrated companions.
           
Volume 1 covers the period from 1866 to 1891, the years in which James was evolving and perfecting his art as a storyteller. It includes such well-known masterpieces as “Daisy Miller,” ‘The Aspern Papers,” “The Siege of London,” and “The Lesson of the Master,” and many other tales in which James established his favorite characters and situations: the American girl in Europe, the solitary observer, the social climber, the literary lion.

Contents of Volume 1

A Landscape-Painter
A Light Man
A Passionate Pilgrim
The Madonna of the Future
Madame de Mauves
Benvolio
Daisy Miller: A Study
An International Episode
The Pension Beaurepas
The Point of View
The Siege of London
Lady Barberina
The Author of "Beltraffio"
Louisa Pallant
The Aspern Papers
The Liar
The Lesson of the Master
The Patagonia
The Pupil
The Marriages
The Chaperon
Sir Edmund Orme