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The Aspern Papers (BBC Radio 4: Book at Bedtime) Audiobook by Henry James
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Title: The Aspern Papers (BBC Radio 4: Book at Bedtime)
Author: Henry James
Narrator: Samuel West
Format: Original Recording
Length: 1 hr and 36 mins
Language: English
Release date: 02-01-11
Publisher: BBC Worldwide Limited
Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 3 votes
Genres: Classics, British Literature
Publisher's Summary:
A BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime recording of Samuel West reading from the novella The Aspern Papers by Henry James, set against the decaying grandeur of Venice. Originally broadcast 26 April - 4 May 2010.
Henry James took as inspiration for this tale the story of a mistress of Byron's who outlived the poet into lonely old age. He transposed the setting to Venice and cast the city he loved as a character in a taut narrative of literary theft and deception.
The lure of previously unseen papers relating to the long-dead poet, Jeffrey Aspern, brings one of his literary editors to Venice in the grip of an obsession. He broaches the palazzo of Aspern's ancient and discarded lover, Miss Juliana Bordereau, and deceives her fluttering middle-aged niece, Miss Tina, into believing he wants to lodge with them in order to cultivate the garden - all in his quest to secure the elusive letters and papers.
Read by Samuel West. Abridged and produced by Christine Hall.
Members Reviews:
Little Known but Great Novella
There is no doubt that Henry James's reputation as a master is well-deserved. This novella is a little masterpiece of mood, characterization, and atmosphere. Venice is described beautifully in just a few paragraphs scattered throughout. And the characters are wonderful. For those who want an introduction to James, this and perhaps also "Washington Square" are the stories to read. His precise language and knowledge of human beings is very nearly unsurpassed.
A Wonderful, Terrible Tale
The two previous reviewers have superbly praised the quality of this spoken word production -- it is flawless. The story itself is perhaps my all-time favourite tale by Henry James -- although I am also partial to THE SACRED FOUNT. I love when James is strange -- and this tale of obsession is very weird. It effects different people in a diversity of ways. Sheldon M. Novick, in his fascinating if eccentric two-volume biography of James, writes rather stuffily of the story thus:
"The story was a cruel joke, and it concerned people who were still living; but the story was a great success. The atmosphere of Venice is beautifully evoked, much of the action occurs in an improbably garden, and narrator's evil deception is at home in the atmosphere of mingled innocence and corruption."
I recently purchased, from Amazon, the excellent DVD of James's tales, AFFAIRS OF THE HEART, and "The Aspern Papers" was one of the tales featured. This televised production shewed the real tragedy of the tale, the fate of poor Miss Tita, to whom was waved a phantom promise of romance, merely to have the spectral promise sink from view, like the clothes of Constance that James tried to drown after her unspeakable suicide (if such her death may be proclaimed). This magnificent story is so much more than a "cruel joke," as Novick unimaginatively complains. It is human drama of a rare kind, deeply felt and superbly expressed by a Master of his Art. The dramatic reading of the story here offered is a fine representation of a classic of its kind.
An entertaining novella from James.
This is one of Henry James' more readable books and it is set in Venice which adds to the enjoyment of it. He actually wrote this book in a Venetian house which still exists and can be seen and the house is described in the book (as another person's house).
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Title: The Aspern Papers (BBC Radio 4: Book at Bedtime)
Author: Henry James
Narrator: Samuel West
Format: Original Recording
Length: 1 hr and 36 mins
Language: English
Release date: 02-01-11
Publisher: BBC Worldwide Limited
Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 3 votes
Genres: Classics, British Literature
Publisher's Summary:
A BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime recording of Samuel West reading from the novella The Aspern Papers by Henry James, set against the decaying grandeur of Venice. Originally broadcast 26 April - 4 May 2010.
Henry James took as inspiration for this tale the story of a mistress of Byron's who outlived the poet into lonely old age. He transposed the setting to Venice and cast the city he loved as a character in a taut narrative of literary theft and deception.
The lure of previously unseen papers relating to the long-dead poet, Jeffrey Aspern, brings one of his literary editors to Venice in the grip of an obsession. He broaches the palazzo of Aspern's ancient and discarded lover, Miss Juliana Bordereau, and deceives her fluttering middle-aged niece, Miss Tina, into believing he wants to lodge with them in order to cultivate the garden - all in his quest to secure the elusive letters and papers.
Read by Samuel West. Abridged and produced by Christine Hall.
Members Reviews:
Little Known but Great Novella
There is no doubt that Henry James's reputation as a master is well-deserved. This novella is a little masterpiece of mood, characterization, and atmosphere. Venice is described beautifully in just a few paragraphs scattered throughout. And the characters are wonderful. For those who want an introduction to James, this and perhaps also "Washington Square" are the stories to read. His precise language and knowledge of human beings is very nearly unsurpassed.
A Wonderful, Terrible Tale
The two previous reviewers have superbly praised the quality of this spoken word production -- it is flawless. The story itself is perhaps my all-time favourite tale by Henry James -- although I am also partial to THE SACRED FOUNT. I love when James is strange -- and this tale of obsession is very weird. It effects different people in a diversity of ways. Sheldon M. Novick, in his fascinating if eccentric two-volume biography of James, writes rather stuffily of the story thus:
"The story was a cruel joke, and it concerned people who were still living; but the story was a great success. The atmosphere of Venice is beautifully evoked, much of the action occurs in an improbably garden, and narrator's evil deception is at home in the atmosphere of mingled innocence and corruption."
I recently purchased, from Amazon, the excellent DVD of James's tales, AFFAIRS OF THE HEART, and "The Aspern Papers" was one of the tales featured. This televised production shewed the real tragedy of the tale, the fate of poor Miss Tita, to whom was waved a phantom promise of romance, merely to have the spectral promise sink from view, like the clothes of Constance that James tried to drown after her unspeakable suicide (if such her death may be proclaimed). This magnificent story is so much more than a "cruel joke," as Novick unimaginatively complains. It is human drama of a rare kind, deeply felt and superbly expressed by a Master of his Art. The dramatic reading of the story here offered is a fine representation of a classic of its kind.
An entertaining novella from James.
This is one of Henry James' more readable books and it is set in Venice which adds to the enjoyment of it. He actually wrote this book in a Venetian house which still exists and can be seen and the house is described in the book (as another person's house).