Henry James

The Jolly Corner Henry James

Can You Be Haunted By An Alternate Self? ""The Jolly Corner"" is a short story by Henry James published first in the magazine The English Review of December, 1908. One of James' most noted ghost stories, it describes the adventures of Spencer Brydon as he prowls the now-empty New York house where he grew up. He encounters a ""sensation more complex than had ever before found itself consistent with sanity."" Brydon returns to New York City after thirty-three years abroad. He has returned to ""look at his 'property, '"" two buildings, one his boyhood home on ""the jolly corner."" These properties have been the source of his income since the deaths of his family members. Spencer finds he is good at directing this renovation, despite never having done this work before, suggesting that his innate ability for business was hiding deep within him unused. Spencer rekindles a relationship with an old friend, Alice Staverton. He starts to wonder who he would be if he had stayed in the U. S...
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