"The Aspern Papers" is the story of an unnamed narrator who travels to Venice in search of some letters by Jeffrey Aspern, a famous and now dead American poet. Inspired by a true story about a fan of the poet Shelley who sought out similar papers, «The Aspern Papers» is one of Henry James's more popular novellas. It is included in this volume with the following three shorter works by Henry James: «The Private Life», «The Middle Years», and «The Death of the Lion».