Literary reference works

Best English Literary References Books

• ''The Aspern Papers'' was first published by an American author known as Henry James, in The Atlantic Monthly in 1888. Eventually, the novel was published. The Aspern Papers, one of Henry James's most well-known and lauded lengthier stories, is based on letters Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Mary Shelley's stepsister, Claire Clairmont, who kept them until she passed away. The Aspern Papers, a thriller set in Venice, is an example of James's ability to build suspense without ever abandoning the growth of his characters. To discover Juliana Bordereau, an unidentified narrator travels to Venice. The narrator flees after Juliana calls him a "publishing scoundrel" and collapses. The narrator of ''The Aspern Papers'' is presented as a "publishing scoundrel", but generates sympathy for the narrator as he tries to work the papers loose from Juliana. Miss Tita is ashamed of her marriage proposal to the narrator but implies she does exactly the right thing by depriving him of the papers. An unnamed narrator tells the story of his obsessional search for some letters and other personal papers that belonged to the late Romantic poet Jeffrey Aspern in this timeless novella from 1888.

• The Golden Bowl is a book written by Sir Henry James in 1904, the novel is written in an interesting way and consists of amazing characters. The "primary period" of James's career, which some reviewers have regarded as being set in England, comes to an end with this nuanced, in-depth analysis of marriage and adultery. The Golden Bowl explores the complicated relationships between a father, a daughter, and each of their husbands. Nearly all of the book is devoted to exploring the major characters' consciousness, which is done with sometimes-obsessive detail but sometimes with perceptive impact. Prince Amerigo is in London for his marriage to Maggie Verver, the only child of the fabulously wealthy Adam Verver. He runs across Charlotte Stant again, another young American who was formerly his mistress while he lived in Rome. Adam and Charlotte Verver are on their way to the United States when the book concludes. The phrase "if ever the silver string be loosed, or the golden bowl is broken" appears in Ecclesiastes 12 and serves as the title. Author Colm Toibin called it Henry James's best work. The Modern Library ranked it 32nd on its list of the 100 best novels.

• The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man written by James Weldon Johnson is a fictionalized account of a young American man's life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Because of his bi-racial heritage, the Ex-Colored Man is found to be on crossroads. He can either embrace his culture and the ragtime music associated with it, or he can live a mediocre life of a middle class man by passing as a white man. The novel is not necessarily an autobiography, but much of the experiences described in the book are drawn from Johnson's life or lives of his acquaintances. The narrator is seen to prefer being passed as a white man to safeguard him and his family from violence and a life of uncertainty that comes with being a person of colour. He believes that living as a black man would put a "label of inferiority pasted across [his] forehead." Despite that, he proclaims that he will neither "disclaim the black race nor claim the white race". The novel concludes with the narrator pondering over the decisions he made in his life and whether it was the right thing to do.

• Perhaps one of James' finest portrayals of the rites of passage of a child's wonderment to knowledge, What Maisie Knew (1897) stands out amongst his writings understandably so. The title is deemed appropriate as we explore how much the titular character Maisie really knows about the mistreatment of her parents. In the novel, Maisie's parents go through a harrowing divorce, remarry and embark on a journey filled with adulterous affairs while Maisie is seen in the sidelines, surviving through it all because of her spirit and intelligence. The adults are wrapped up in their own romances, while Maisie is neglected.  In this exemplary tale that describes the death of one's childhood, there are glints of comedy that seem to be inspired by Dickens. In the conclusion of the novel, we see Maisie faced with a decision to choose between Sir Claude and Mrs. Farange and Mrs. Wix, where Maisie ends up going to stay with Mrs. Wix as her belief in her new parents' relationship is diminished. Set in New York, a film with the same name was released in 2012, albeit the story was a bit altered in it. 

• Eugene Pickering is a prime example of this kind of longish short tale, one of Henry James' specialties, which explores philosophical issues through in-depth character profiles. James compares and contrasts two archetypes in it: a bookish scholar who has spent the majority of his life mainly sheltered and a streetwise "doer" who is keenly aware of his surroundings. Eugene Pickering was written by Henry James in various chapters which signifies an interesting message. Same as his other novels like The Turn of the Screw, The Portrait of a Lady, Daisy Miller, The Ambassadors, and The Wings of the Dove, in this novel, Henry James has put the final fact of this novel to his audience and readers. Several years ago, before gambling was outlawed, it was in Homburg. The entire world gathered to listen to the orchestra on the terrace of the Kursaal and the esplanade below it. In the game rooms surrounding the tables, there were just as many people. The Prayer from Der Freischutz was being played by the orchestra, but Weber's beautiful melody simply made my memories even hazier.

• Henry James wrote the short story ''Georgina's Reason''. It describes a pair that doesn't seem to have gotten along very well. Against the objections of her wealthy parents, the stunning, cold, and ostensibly conservative Georgina Gressie weds the poor navy lieutenant Raymond Benyon (Joachim Bissmeier) in secret in New York, making him pledge never to mention their union to anyone unless she gives him permission to. This pledge, first made without thought or suspicion, has important and far-reaching ramifications: Georgina gradually distances herself from her puzzled husband, leaves her child in the care of an Italian woman while on a vacation to Europe, and does everything she can to disregard her marriage. Raymond finds out by chance that "his" wife Georgina has subsequently remarried a number of years later. He had met Kate in Italy and has a close relationship with her; her new spouse is a relative. The only thing that would make sense to him right now and be easier is to demand of Georgina that she renounce his pledge to keep quiet and grant a divorce. She declines. And Benyon is unable to force himself to marry his new love in bigamy.

• Glasses is one of the best short stories written by Henry James in 1896. A society marriage is about to take place between a young woman whose only asset is an incredibly attractive face. That is until her fiancé realizes that she requires bulky spectacles that detract from her appearance because she is practically blind. In Folkestone, the unnamed narrator, a bachelor artist, notices a young woman with an astonishingly stunning face. He discovers that she is Flora Saunt, an orphan, from a friend, the widowed Mrs. Meldrum who must wear unsightly glasses. Lord Iffield, the unintelligent heir to a country estate, is one of her admirers. Geoffrey Dawling, who is educated and empathetic but not attractive, is another admirer who is also wealthy. Later, the narrator attends a Lohengrin performance in London. He sees a beautiful woman in a box wearing expensive gems and assumes she must be Flora. She looks at him over her opera glasses and smiles. Before realizing she is now blind, he approaches her box and kisses her hand in greeting. She can't see Geoffrey's terrible appearance, but he rejoins her and the two.

• The ''Studies In Pessimis'' is written by Arthur Schopenhauer. The Essays that are being provided here are an additional selection from Schopenhauer's Parerga that have been gathered under a title that is not present in the original. The first essay is primarily a translation of the philosopher's observations found in the section titled Night Reflections on the Lesson of the Death of the World, as well as excerpts from another portion titled Night Reflections on the Lesson of the Bejahung and Verneinung of the Will to Life. Such omissions as the author have made are primarily motivated by the wish to avoid restating arguments that readers of the other volumes in this series are already familiar with. The Dialogue on Immortality summarizes ideas that were extensively discussed in the philosopher's major book and again in the Parerga. The chapter of the original with the same title as this and the preceding volume is almost finished with the psychological observations. The essay about women shouldn't be read as a joke. It conveys Schopenhauer's strong opinions, and as a perceptive observer of humanity's flaws, he should be given a chance to speak on a topic that is currently generating a lot of discussion among us.

• The San Francisco Calamity by Earthquake and Fire : It is unlikely that the calamity will ever be fully measured. When chaos strikes, all the normal avenues of existence are blocked, and the suffering of people becomes terrible. And when order is finally restored, many weeks, months, or even years later, the specifics of the catastrophe have combined into one incomprehensible mass of suffering. There hasn't been any natural violence since the western hemisphere was discovered that even comes close to the catastrophic intensity of what the Pacific coast experienced. The only other catastrophe even close to matching or exceeding it was the Civil War, which was caused by man's sinful desires driving him to kill his brother when Nature would have preferred he live in peace. The large city of San Francisco is the center of attention, but smaller places have also seen their share of devastation, terror, and suffering. Beyond their bounds, over a large region, the earth's trembling destroyed property, toppled homes, and reduced wealth to destitution. If we think about it, perhaps we can arrive at a useful estimation of our own relative insignificance. There are many ignoble aspects of human life, and the race is weak and insignificant in relation to the physical powers of the cosmos in an almost despicable way. It could be necessary for a Superior Power to intervene directly, even if it causes physical harm, in order to convince us to reassess our direction. The wisest men have been the ones who are most willing to acknowledge the benefits of suffering-based discipline.

• William Godwin's three-volume work The Adventures of Caleb Williams, also known as Things as They Are in 1831 or simply Caleb Williams, was written between 1794 and 1831. The first-person narrator of the book is Caleb Williams, a young man who is destitute, self-educated, and orphaned. Falkland, the primary character, is often a restrained and silent master but is prone to unexpected outbursts of wrath. Barnabas Tyrrel, a harsh landlord who tormented and mistreated his tenants, was Falkland's neighbor. Emily Melvile, Tyrrel's niece, was saved from a fire by him, and as a result of his bravery, Emily developed feelings for Falkland. After leaving the estate, Caleb is persuaded to go back and defend himself in court. Caleb and other miserable prisoners provide testimony to the agony of a life behind bars. Eventually, a servant gives Caleb the means to escape, and he does so successfully by attempting to venture into the wilderness. A group of thieves rob Caleb, and one of them specifically assaults him physically. A new guy comes to his rescue and brings him to the headquarters of the same band of robbers. Now Caleb must try to avoid Falkland's efforts to catch and silence him. Falkland asserts that he purposefully skipped court so that he could convince Caleb to put his denials in writing.

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