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Henry James (1843-1916) |
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Henry James (1843-1916)—prolific author of fiction, travel writing, literary and cultural criticism, and letters—is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers from the United States, but readers and critics divide over two issues raised by his life and his style:
1. Is James really “American” at all? Or simply a
remarkable cosmopolitan who happened to be born in the
2. Is James a great experimental stylist who conscientiously imagines his characters’ interior lives, or does he only make a detailed fuss over small incidents in private lives?
Joseph Conrad, "Henry James--An Appreciation"
Biographical chronology:
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Grandson of a wealthy Protestant Irish-American family; James's grandfather founded the family fortune by helping develop the
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James’s father, Henry James Senior, was an independently wealthy journalist associated with Transcendentalism and Swedenborgianism who relocated his family frequently in Europe and the
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James’s elder brother, William James (1842-1910), was a leading American philosopher associated with Pragmatism and a founder of modern psychology. (Emerson was his godfather.)
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James’s younger sister Alice James (1848-1892), a troubled invalid, wrote a fascinating diary, published posthumously: The Diary of Alice James, ed. Leon Edel (1964).
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From the 1860s James wrote fiction, travel, memoir, literary criticism, and correspondence in great volume.
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Fictional masterpieces include Daisy Miller (1879), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Bostonians (1886), The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903), and The Golden Bowl (1994).
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James’s fictional subject matter often involves Americans in Europe (occasionally vice versa) and the differences in minds and manners that develop on the two continents, as well as their interaction—the “International Theme,” which is now relevant to the emerging critical field of Trans-Atlantic literature.
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James’s early style is associated with the Realism movement in American Literature after the Civil War. James was close friends with other leading American Realist writers including Edith Wharton and William Dean Howells.
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James’s Realism shows particularly in observing social or class limits to human desires.
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James’s realism may be classified as Psychological Realism b/c of attention to internal decision making, especially through third-person limited perspective.
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James’s later writings become less Realist and more experimental in a style sometimes associated with Impressionism, stream-of-conscious narration, and Modernism.
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From the 1870s James lived in Europe but continued to publish and maintain literary friendships in the
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Angry at the
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James’s fiction sold moderately well during his lifetime so that he was able to support himself by working tirelessly as a man of letters. (The James family fortune diminished rapidly across his parents' lifetime.) James's fiction has always enjoyed critical prestige and continues to attract intense attention and voluminous commentary.
from Dr. White's curriculum vitae:
“James, Henry.” The Literature of Travel and
Exploration: An Encyclopedia.
“Cherry-Garrard, Apsley (1886-1956)” The Literature
of Travel and Exploration: An Encyclopedia.
"Women Writers," "Elizabeth Bishop," "Charlotte Perkins Gilman,"
"Alice James,"
"Sarah Orne Jewett," "Susan Sontag."
The
Handbook of American Women's History. 2nd. ed.
Ed. Angela Howard and Frances Kavenik.
“A
Utopia of `Spheres and Sympathies’: Science and Society in
"Henry James, 1843-1916."
Dictionary of Literary
Biography, vol. 189:
American Travel Writers, 1850-1915.
Eds. Donald Ross and James J. Schramer.
Review of
James Baldwin: A Biography,
by David Leeming.
The Henry James Review.
16.2 (Spring 1995): 244-46.
Review of
Henry James: Collected Travel
Writings, ed. Richard Howard.
The Henry James Review.
15.1 (Winter 1994): 91-95.
"The Crisis," "Federal Writers Project," "Fire," "The Messenger," "
"A
House of
Interest: A Keyword in
The Portrait of a Lady." Modern Language
Quarterly.
52.2 (June 1991): 191-207.