The stories in this collection were written mostly between 1888 and 1897, a time when Henry James’s writing was concerned with the art of fiction and the position of the artist in society. The motif and title story, `The Figure in the Carpet’, is an inspired joke, a masterpiece of double-entendre that demands the reader’s undivided love and attention and continues to baffle its critics. Also included are `The Author of Beltraffio’, an absorbing story of family infighting, authorship and tragedy, and `The Private Life’, a spirited tale that considers the contrast between the artist alone and at work. While many of these stories appear to be elaborate Jamesian games, all employ irony and humour to allegorize artistic creation.
- ISBN10 0140432558
- ISBN13 9780140432558
- Publish Date 24 April 1986
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 31 March 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
- Imprint Penguin Classics
- Format Paperback
- Pages 464
- Language English