Henry James

The Golden Bowl comes in the first years of the 20th-century: the publisher, Charles Scribner's Sons, decided never to serialise it and published it in New York in December 1904 in two volumes. After just a few months, in February 1905, also Methuen published the novel in London in a one-volume edition. In 1909, a revised edition appeared as volumes 23 and 24 of the New York edition, and James this time also prepared the preface, in which he reflected...

A Timeless Classic of Societal Customs, Cultural Disputes, and The Cost of Non-Conformity Henry James' novella Daisy Miller, features one of his greatest heroines. At first glance it seems to be a simple story of a lovely young, independent American girl traveling through Europe. But her flouting of social conventions has the potential to lead to catastrophe as she disrupts the rigid social rules of the Old World, attracting and scandalizing all...

Henry James's tragicomic masterpiece pits a headstrong Mississippi lawyer against his feminist cousin in a no-holds-barred fight for the heart of an impressionable young suffragette. When Basil Ransom, a headstrong Mississippi lawyer, comes to Boston to call on his wealthy activist cousin, Olive, an epic battle of wills ensues. Basil is a conservative of the most ardent type while Cousin Olive is steadfast in her radicalism. Perhaps for a laugh, perhaps...

What Maisie Knew is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Chap-Book and in the New Review in 1897 and then as a book later that year. It tells the story of the sensitive daughter of divorced, irresponsible parents. The book follows the title character from earliest childhood to precocious maturity. When Beale and Ida Farange are divorced, the court decrees that their only child, the very young Maisie, will shuttle back and forth...

When the threat of poverty forces Kate Croy and Merton Densher to reconsider their engagement to one another, Kate becomes determined to find a solution. The answer comes in the form of Milly Theale, a rich, young American woman visiting London as a result of her failing health. With a dramatic plan to exploit Milly's wealth and her affection for Merton, Kate believes she will achieve all that she has hoped for. The subsequent unexpected and tragic...

Originally published in 1875 as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly, Roderick Hudson is a One has the money but not the talent. One has the talent but not the money. It would seem that Rowland Mallet and Roderick Hudson were meant to meet. A rich and sensible man, Rowland is ecstatic when Roderick, a beautiful but somewhat selfish sculptor, accepts his offer of joining him in Rome for two years to develop his artistic talents. To complicate matters,...

Save when it happened to rain Vanderbank always walked home, but he usually took a hansom when the rain was moderate and adopted the preference of the philosopher when it was heavy. On this occasion he therefore recognised as the servant opened the door a congruity between the weather and the "four-wheeler" that, in the empty street, under the glazed radiance, waited and trickled and blackly glittered. The butler mentioned it as on such a wild night...

"The Tragic Muse," although loved by James admirers, hasn't reached the same level of acclaim as some of his earlier novels. The charming and witty story of two would-be artists, both looking for inspiration in spite of society's emphasis on material success, is a provocative look at the role of the artist in society. Nick Dormer, an aspiring painter, must decide whether or not to fulfill his family legacy in British politics with the help of his...

A Bundle of Letters is a comic short story by Henry James, originally published in The Parisian magazine in 1879, which is also when the story takes place. The story is one of James' few ventures into epistolary fiction. As he did so often, especially in the early stages of his career, James made the tale part of his international theme: his letter-writers represent a number of different countries. Although some of the characters look like well-worn...

What is the true American identity? This question, still relevant today, was a core issue in the 19th century art and literature. In "Point of View", Henry James is searching for an answer deep into the hearts and minds of his characters. By bringing together the enthusiasm of a young woman, the fear of an over-protective mother or the boredom of an upper class snob, James constructs a complex picture to which each one of us can relate...