Having traveled from England to Venice, the narrator prepares for an attempt to access formerly undiscovered papers related to author Jeffrey Aspern. His friend Mrs. Prest has given him an idea he claims he wouldn’t have devised himself: to become a lodger in the home of Juliana and Tita Bordereau, an unmarried aunt and niece who he believes are in possession of the letters. Juliana, the aunt, had a romantic relationship with Aspern many years earlier. The narrator is both an editor and a devotee of Aspern’s work, and his attitude toward the deceased poet is worshipful. The narrator reflects on research he and his friend John Cumnor conducted on Aspern, insisting that “his early death had been the only dark spot in his life” (52). He expresses some trepidation that the papers may change that image, as there have been rumors that Aspern treated Miss. Bordereau badly.

Though he has seen the place before, he accepts Mrs. Prest’s offer to show him the Bordereau house, since she has visited the women before. They observe the house, which the narrator feels seems to have an air of “quiet discouragement,” though it is imposing (54).