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Henry James
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The Jolly Corner Kindle Edition

by Henry James (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 85 ratings
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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
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  1. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  2. Publication date
    May 12, 2012
  3. Language
    English
  4. File size
    147 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry James, OM (15 April 1843 - 28 February 1916) was an American writer.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0082RUGFW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (May 12, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 12, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 147 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 76 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 85 ratings

About the author

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Henry James

Henry James

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Henry James (1843-1916), the son of the religious philosopher Henry James Sr. and brother of the psychologist and philosopher William James, published many important novels including Daisy Miller, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, and The Ambassadors.

Customer reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5 out of 5
85 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

The Roving Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars I didn't think I would like this collection
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2016
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Important Stories

Several short stories in this anthology are definitely masterpieces, two of them being "The Jolly Corner" and "The Turn of the Screw." Although strange and ghostly, these two stories are universal in scope and have a haunting theme suitable for study. I didn't think I would like this collection, but I quickly changed my mind. Henry James' writing always reaches high standards and this book can be read as much more than strange tales.
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Laurence R. Bachmann
4.0 out of 5 stars Letting go of what might have been
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2014
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The Jolly Corner is a lovely, if at times obscure tale of a middle age man reflecting back not upon the life he led, but on the one he didn't live. Like Henry James, our main character Spencer Brydon has absconded to the continent, disdaining the city of his forefathers, but happily living off the rents that allow him to reside comfortably in Europe.

After a 33 year long absence he returns to renovate the house on The Jolly Corner where he grew up. As with most James stories it is short on action and focuses not on action to drive plot but upon reflection. In this short story it is the psychological sort, gussied up cleverly as a "ghost story" that grows to haunt our hero of what might have been.

James is artful in building suspense that is entirely predicated upon distasteful musing about oneself. Without revealing too much with the help of his friend Miss Staverton, Brydon comes to realize that his decision (as are all major ones) a double edged sword. Nothing is gained without loss.

Written in James' late period, The Jolly Corner is not without its challenges. Interior musings and a writing style that may fairly be described as "run on" are not with out challenges. Yes, you will have to circle back in a few paragraphs. Reading Henry can feel a bit like you've taken a wrong turn and need to go back. While I'm a great admirer of the author I've deducted a star as fair warning to those who like writing that is straightforward. Hemingway fans needn't bother.

That said, The Jolly Corner is well worth a bit of bother. Read out loud til you master the cadence (it does get easier) or just go slowly. This is a marvelous short story with keen insights into life and those of us a bit long in the tooth. Enjoy!
3 people found this helpful
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JAK
3.0 out of 5 stars Self Haunted
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2014
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The conventional wisdom has it that this is the second greatest ghost story by Henry James and it's correct.It is not the utterly fascinating conundrum that Turn of the Screw is.However, it is quite good and I found James' prose, ravishing.Yes, I know he's convoluted but it is a wonderful artifact.The Jolly Corner is an extremely weird story.The lead character is haunted by himself.I suppose this is less a ghost story than a might have been story.It's very imaginative.James also gives you another glimpse of old WASP New York- disintegrating and being absorbed by commercial Capitalism.The might have been is that the lead character would have been an early Donald Trump if he hadn't gone off to do exactly what in London?Okay I admit I was sufficiently interested to read up on this and I don't necessarily think a "gay" reading is incorrect or anachronistic in the case of this story or Turn of the Screw.That said the "heterosexual" romantic ending has an earned , uncontrived feel to it which renders it effective and moving.
4 people found this helpful
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joni
1.0 out of 5 stars No
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2014
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This is quite possibly the worst thing I've ever had to read. I do not wish for anyone to have to read something so banal.
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Still A Tennessee Girl
5.0 out of 5 stars A New Favorite
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2012
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I had somehow missed out on reading The Jolly Corner until it was required for a recent class. It is now a new favorite! Much like The Turn of the Screw, it is somewhat of a ghost story as the protagonist confronts his past. One warning - the language is complex (one reviewer called it "labyrinthine"), but hang in there! It would be a wonderful read-aloud choice to get the rising tension and breathless meanderings.
2 people found this helpful
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Dewey R Tipton
2.0 out of 5 stars A Ghost Story
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2016
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A well written ghost story but pretty tame by modern standards,
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Judith Blase
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing convolutions of language and narration
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2019
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Read it as a companion to starnOne’s trick another “ghost” story but it’s too overwrought to follow although I love James’s language and breathlessness
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James M. Rawley
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent ghost story, love story
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2010
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This is very late James, a nouvelle written four years after his last completed novel, THE GOLDEN BOWL. It's a brilliant ghost story, faster-paced and more straightforward than THE TURN OF THE SCREW, and -- very rarely for James -- has a perfect happy ending where two people realize how much they love one another. Those who have trouble with James's later style will have the usual complaints; those who enjoy it, as I do, will especially like this story. James makes poetry of a deserted building at night, and it's scary.

I paid top dollar for the separate Kindle version, but for the same amount of money you can get lots more James, and many gigantic Kindle James collections include THE JOLLY CORNER. It is just a long short story, and it's also available separately on Kindle for free. I thought this version might have something extra; it didn't.
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Top reviews from other countries

Anthony Marinelli
5.0 out of 5 stars later james complex and requires adjustment from early james
Reviewed in Canada on October 22, 2015
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excellent stories of the late james though I must qualify it with the statement that they are not as easy to read as the earlier james. The language and articulation of the stories is complex and the structure elaborate you might want to start with the early James even the early James novel before progressing onto this collection of stories. The stories are complex and they require some patience to sit through and glean what the writer is trying to say at times and the complex narratve in which he weaves his story...I enjoy the early James the later james less so but that's just my bias since the later james is certainly enthralling and all encompassing as stories though they take more time to read and are a slower read...but I still read the jolly corner and enjoyed the works but less so...
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Pet_Bookworm
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful psychological tales
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 26, 2013
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If you like eerie tales which are ambiguous about whether the disturbances in people's lives are down to psychological or supernatural causes, then I can thoroughly recommend this book of stories from one of the greatest and most discerning writers in the English language, Henry James. The writing is subtle and allusive and reflective, which sometimes requires a great deal of concentration to follow, but it is highly effective at painting atmospheric pictures of places and insightful portraits of people. Well worth reading.
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Ralph Blumenau
1.0 out of 5 stars The most difficult ghosty story I have ever read - but is it a ghost story at all?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2018
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My fault, no doubt, but I couldn't make sense of this at all. Style exceedingly difficult; content was for me ungraspable, though I could make out that this is a kind of a ghost story in which the main character is in search of his earlier self (in an empty house to which he returned after an absence of 33 years) and is terrified when he finds it. Not clear to me whether what he finds is a ghost or a figment of his imagination. Mercifully short - just 76 pages.
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D. W. Pountney
1.0 out of 5 stars One Star
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2017
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Ludicrously wordy, pompous and convoluted style.
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