By turns chilling, funny, tragic, and profound, Henry James’s short novels allow readers to experience the full range of his skills and vision. The title story, a chilling masterpiece of psychological terror, mixes the phantoms of the mind with those ofthe supernatural. “Daisy Miller,” the tale of a provincial American girl in Rome that established James’s literary reputation, and “An International Episode” are superb examples of his focus on the clash between American and European values. And in “TheAspern Papers,” “The Alter of the Dead,” and “The Beast in the Jungle,” the author’s remarkable sense of irony, his love of plot twists, and his view of male-female relationships find exquisite expression.