The four stories in this volume provide excellent introductions to the themes and styles of the author's three periods and also to that 'long short story' ('the dear, the blessed nouvelle') in which James found he could get the best of both worlds. 'The Last of the Valerii' is an early example of those supernatural stories which culminated most perfectly in 'The Turn of the Screw'. 'Daisy Miller' is based on what James called the 'international situation'; this delightful portrait of an American girl all at sea in the manners of Europe is probably his most famous short story. When he came to publish 'The Lesson of the Master' and 'The Real Thing' the crisis of his continental conflict was over and he had opted for the Old World. The former deals with the recurrent artist-disciple theme, while the latter probes the question of reality in art in a peculiarly poignant story. This selection is edited and introduced by Michael Swan. The cover shows a detail from 'Young Woman Seated on a Sofa' by Berthe Morisot, in a private collection. - from Amzon