Critics have generally been very kind to this relatively little-known story. The detailed and convincing portrait of the telegraphist has garnered much praise. More politically-inclined critics have appreciated James's ability to present a working-class woman with sympathy and accuracy. Some have compared the story to The Turn of the Screw, published just before In the Cage. The unnamed protagonists of both stories do display active imaginations, but the telegraphist seems much better grounded in reality. At least critics do not ask whether she has imagined Captain Everard and Lady Bradeen. A few critics have amused themselves by trying to guess exactly what the telegraphist deciphered from the telegrams between Captain Everard and Lady Bradeen. James himself said that he didn't know and he didn't want to know.

In the Cage is a novella by Henry James, first published as a book in 1898. This long story centers on an unnamed London telegraphist. She deciphers clues to her clients' personal lives from the often cryptic telegrams they submit to her as she sits in the "cage" at the post office. Sensitive and intelligent, the telegraphist eventually finds out more than she may want to know.

Henry James, OM (15 April 1843–28 February 1916) was an American-British writer who spent most of his writing career in Britain. He is regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism.