Description

A romance is threatened by a strange and mysterious curse in Henry James’s 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle. One day, John Marcher runs into his old acquaintance, May Bartrum. Ten years have passed since John and May have seen each other, but May has not forgotten John...or his terrible secret. As May knows, John is haunted by the idea that a dark and horrible fate awaits him and could strike at any moment of his life. Although John now realizes that he has strong feelings for May, he is paralyzed by his constant sense of dread. He fears that indulging his passion will only invite tragedy to pounce all the sooner. What fate awaits John? Is his suspicion well-founded or will he be able to break free of the fear that imprisons him? You’ll be shocked by the truths that reveal themselves at the conclusion of this very eerie and unusual tale.

About the Author

Henry James (1843-1916) was born in New York City to a wealthy and prominent family. His father was a well-known writer and thinker, and James’s parents offered their son a solid education and frequent travel to Europe. James began to write as a young man, publishing his first novel, Watch and Ward, in 1871. Over the next several years, James produced a wealth of short stories, novels, plays, and non-fiction prose, among them such celebrated titles as The Portrait of a Lady, Roderick Hudson, The Bostonians, and What Maisie Knew. Living most of his life abroad, James moved in many prominent intellectual circles, befriending many of the great artists, writers, and thinkers of his day. In a move that shocked many, James took British citizenship in 1915 in order to express his disappointment with the United States for not yet having entered the First World War. Feeling more at home abroad than in America, James spent the rest of his life in England. To this day, he is known as “the Master” for his intelligent, intricate writing that explores the dramatic psychological machinations beneath even the simplest of human interactions and events.

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Opening Lines (Experimental)

What determined the speech that startled him in the course of their encounter scarcely matters, being probably but some words spoken by himself quite without intention--spoken as they lingered and slowly moved together after their renewal of acquaintance. He had been conveyed by friends an hour ...