After reading James’ The Turn of the Screw, The Aspern Papers was a delightful, dramatic-comedic tale, which had the pathos, humor, and painstakingly wrought psychological studies to make up for its lack of ghosts this time around. That is not to say, however, that the dead do not haunt the narrative of The Aspern Papers prominently. James’ Venetian tale brings us deep into the mind of an unnamed male, wholly overzealous of the fading legacy of the poet and lothario Jeffery Aspern. Upon learning that one of Aspern’s old paramours named Juliana possesses a series of love letters between herself and the poet, our narrator concocts a harebrained and thoroughly Shakespearean (in a Comedy sense) plot to get ahold of those letters and reveal as much of Aspern’s life and artistry to the world as possible. His plan: To come to the Venetian villa of Juliana under a false name, pay for lodging, seduce her niece Miss Tina, and use her to get the letters. What unfolds is a stunning musing on the nature of legacy, publishing artist’s works without their consent, and morals as James probes deeper and deeper into our narrator’s psyche, and as he gets closer with the Venetian family, his conscience begins creeping up on him. James’ writing is at both times long-winded and thoroughly gripping, making it a tale that sticks with you long after you finish it (and you will finish it fast, as it is hard to put down!). I am so excited to read more of James in the future, and if any of you have any recommendations for where I should go next with James, I will be happy to follow such advice!