The stories in this selection are James's earliest tales, including 'A Tragedy of Error', which was published when he was just twenty-one. With the exception of 'Madame de Mauves', which is 31,000 words, all the tales here are short and what James himself would have described as 'anecdotes.' In these stories James explores notions of freedom, sexuality, a fear of marriage and derailment in love, as well as other concerns of a young man with the mind of a wordly observer.

Frances Wilson has selected these thirteen stories and provided an original introduction to James's work.