The Aspern Papers

The Aspern Papers is a novella set in Venice. A young man travels to the city and takes lodgings with an old woman--the former lover of the dead American poet Aspern.

The man believes the old woman still has some letters from Aspern and he ingratiates himself with her niece in an attempt to find them.

Suspense builds around the motives and actions of James' masterfully drawn characters.