The Figure in the Carpet

Hugh Vericher was 52 years old and had been a famous writer for more than 20 years. He would live another 20, his fame and the critical appreciation increasing throughout that time. In some ways, this story,. the figure in the carpet was like catnip to his reviewers and admirers. It was like a gauntlet thrown down. Here's what a writer like me is capable of. James seemed to say, I am naming the problem for you. Figures in the carpet. See if you can find a figure in this carpet that I've laid down. And maybe there's a bit of a lament.