Henry James considered the short novel to be the ideal form for fiction, and to this genre he bought the full perfection of his imaginative artistry. The themes he chose and the values he set forth in these short novels typify the depth and power of his craftsmanship - the unique perception of a writer who unerringly deciphers the mind of a carefree and flirtatious American girl adrift among the sophistications of Europe...the motivations of a man who spends a lifetime waiting to experience his "rare and strange" destiny. As Willard Thorp writes in his foreword "few writers have been so inventive as Henry James." An International Episode Daisy Miller The Aspern Papers The Altar of the Dead The Turn of the Screw The Beast in the Jungle