The Jolly Corner

James, Henry, 1843-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.2

Word count: 80K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Jolly Corner by Henry JamesAuthor: James, Henry, 1843-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Feb 1, 1998

Editor's review

The Jolly Corner is one of Henry James's late novellas with remarkable psychological depth: brief in length, yet it pushes the fantasy of "what if I had chosen another path" into subtle, tense territory. The story centers on a man who returns to New York after long years in Europe and becomes determined to track down the self he might have become in the old family house, prompting deep questions about identity, time and regret. James's prose is dense and his syntax circuitous, and the atmosphere is especially well wrought; the book suits readers who like to read slowly and catch hints between the lines. This is a Project Gutenberg public-domain electronic edition, convenient for consulting the original text at any time and suitable as supplementary reading in English literature courses discussing narrative point of view and psychological description. As you read, note how the narrator handles space and light, which often reveal a character's inner turbulence before the plot does.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in Henry James and psychological realist fiction
English majors or learners who need to study an English-language novella in the original
Slow readers who enjoy subtle atmosphere, identity themes and open-ended interpretation
Organizers who want to run book-club discussions using a public-domain electronic text

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction who prefer fast-paced plots and clear endings
Beginners with little patience for circuitous long sentences and dense psychological description
Early English learners looking for detailed annotations and a guided introduction

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the story's direction, then revisit the environmental description and character monologue in key scenes.
While reading, note how the narrator describes the old house's space and light, and observe how they map onto the character's psychology.
You may consider the symbolic meaning of the "other self" in light of common themes in Henry James's late fiction.
If the English is difficult, consult a reliable translation to sort out the meaning of sentences, but base discussion of textual detail on the original.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this novella suitable for English beginners?

Not really. Henry James's late style has circuitous syntax and dense hints, and requires some English reading experience and patience. Beginners who want to try should first read a reliable Chinese translation to understand the plot, then return to the original to savor the language, or use an annotated edition to help with comprehension.

Does this electronic edition include annotations or an introduction?

According to the information, this is a public-domain electronic text released by Project Gutenberg, offering mainly the original work; no scholarly annotations or introduction are mentioned. For background material, consult Henry James scholarship separately or read alongside an annotated print edition.

What is the core theme of the story?

On the visible level of the text, the story centers on the protagonist's return to the old house and his pursuit of the self he might have become, touching on themes such as identity, life choices and regret. There is considerable room for interpretation; readers are advised to consider it through the narrative point of view and spatial description rather than reduce it to a single conclusion.

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About the author

James, Henry, 1843-1916 Author

Henry James (1843–1916) was a novelist born in the United States who later became a British citizen, known for his psychological realism. He advances his narratives through his characters' consciousness and moral dilemmas, in a delicate, restrained style with carefully crafted sentences, often using limited points of view to leave meaningful gaps. His works frequently explore themes such as the collision between European and American cultures, marriage and freedom, and innocence versus worldly sophistication. The collection holds 81 of his works, including the two-volume The Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, The Beast in the Jungle, and the novella The Turn of the Screw. These works range from novels to novellas and show his fine, detailed portrayal of inner life across different lengths. Public information is limited, so biographical details are omitted, but these works alone reveal his important place in the tradition of psychological narrative in English literature.