UNLIMITED Audiobooks and eBooks

Over 40,000 books & works on all major devices

Get ALL YOU CAN for FREE for 30 days!

The Figure in the Carpet

Henry James

Book Overview: 

The story ostensibly concerns a young literary critic who greatly admires the writer Hugh Vereker. A meeting with Vereker, however, shows him that he — and all other critics — have in fact missed the great point of Vereker’s work, and the critic (and his editor) thereupon devote themselves to trying to unravel the mystery. James’s story, however, almost certainly has an autobiographical side to it, perhaps itself criticizing those critics who couldn’t see, or wouldn’t see, the figures lost in the carpet of his own writing.

How does All You Can Books work?

All You Can Books gives you UNLIMITED access to over 40,000 Audiobooks, eBooks, and Foreign Language courses. Download as many audiobooks, ebooks, language audio courses, and language e-workbooks as you want during the FREE trial and it's all yours to keep even if you cancel during the FREE trial. The service works on any major device including computers, smartphones, music players, e-readers, and tablets. You can try the service for FREE for 30 days then it's just $19.99 per month after that. So for the price everyone else charges for just 1 book, we offer you UNLIMITED audio books, e-books and language courses to download and enjoy as you please. No restrictions.

Book Excerpt: 
. . .Lady Jane of a triumph.  I was just reflecting in truth that this interminable board would deprive me of one when the guest next me, dear woman—she was Miss Poyle, the vicar’s sister, a robust unmodulated person—had the happy inspiration and the unusual courage to address herself across it to Vereker, who was opposite, but not directly, so that when he replied they were both leaning forward.  She enquired, artless body, what he thought of Lady Jane’s “panegyric,” which she had read—not connecting it however with her right-hand neighbour; and while I strained my ear for his reply I heard him, to my stupefaction, call back gaily, his mouth full of bread: “Oh, it’s all right—the usual twaddle!”

I had caught Vereker’s glance as he spoke, but Miss Poyle’s surprise was a fortunate cover for my own.  “You mean he doesn’t do you justice?” said the excellent wom. . . Read More

Community Reviews

Esta novela de Henry James faz-me lembrar uma anedota que me contaram em miúda, sobre um rapaz que toda a vida pediu uma bolinha amarela como prenda, até que, muitos anos depois, decide explicar a razão da sua fixação e… É basicamente o que sucede em “O Desenho no Tapete”, uma história sobre escrito

"Recenzia mea ieftina s-a topit in spatiu si cele mai bune lucruri pe care le spusesem in ea au devenit destul de plate in fata stralucirii prezentei lui." Cam asa simt si eu cand trebuie sa scriu despre Henry James.
In acest mini-roman autorul abordeaza relatia dintre scriitor, critic literar, fan,

This Henry James short story published in 1896 is a lustrous, clear Tahitian pearl for those of us here on Goodreads since the first-person narrator is a young book reviewer who becomes obsessed with both Hugh Vereker, a much celebrated novelist, and also Vereker’s novels. It all started when our na

View More Reviews