Told from a first person point of view, author Henry James' The Figure in the Carpet was published in 1896 and tells the story of a man (the unnamed narrator, who is a literary critic for a local newspaper), who meets his favorite author and pours his life into finding the hidden meaning behind all of their works. After the author told the narrator that no one but him understood his book, the narrator goes to the end of the Earth to discover the meaning behind the author's work. The enigmatic author eggs him on.
There is some debate amongst critics whether The Figure in the Carpet should be considered a short story or a novella. Although not known as one of James' more significant or important works, The Figure in the Carpet was widely read and published after it was released in both in the magazine Cosmopolis and as a book. In fact, the book's title was used by acclaimed author T.S. Elliot in one of his collections. He wrote: "Nowadays, we all look for the Figure in the Carpet."
