Talk:Henry James/Archive 1

List notable works?
Wouldn't it improve readability if the notable works et al were in a list, rather than paragraph form? 66.229.182.113 07:43, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
 * The reason I used middle-dot format is that James wrote so much, and the list format created lots of white space. Sort of the same reason they use middle-dot format on the featured articles page. This format does make the list a little less readable, but I broke it up into separate sections to avoid as much of that problem as I could. Casey Abell 14:40, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Wikify tag
I added the wikify cleanup tag because, frankly, even this talk page is better presented than the article. Sections, headings etc need to be added. I'll do it if i get some time. Hamdev Guru 11:12, 20 November 2005 (UTC)

Opinionated?
Am I the only one who finds the recent update to the Henry James page (everything after the first paragraph) to be a little bit more opinionated than the usual "neutral Wiki" tone? And also to include specific points of fact that are detailed enough to require either citation or specific indication of the author's knowledge? (in other words, much of this sounds like material from specific biographies/critical works/lectures that would need to be cited as "the opinion of" the source in question). As an academic with an interest in this page and this subject (and who authored the IMO neutral, descriptive paragraph that heads the entry), I'm wondering what other Wikipedians think.
 * Yes. It needs citation.  Also, formatting according to English standards (italics for book titles, etc.).  --KQ
 * Indeed. I note such phrases as "his short fiction tends to be easier to read than his novels", etc. Unfortunately I myself am relatively uninformed with regards to this author, so I cannot comment on the accuracy of other statements made in this article. --KA
 * Above from Sept02 P. Riis 18:31, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Homosexuality
Also, the statement that he "was a male homosexual" is complete speculation; I remember reading a review of a James biography a couple years ago where the author speculated James and Oliver Wendell Holmes were lovers as young men; the reviewer said there is no proof of this, or that James ever had sexual relations with anyone. What is known is that he proposed to a young lady once, but that she rejected him b/c he had not been brave enough to already enlist in the Union Army (this was during the Civil War) -- jleybov
 * Above from Feb03 P. Riis 18:31, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Given the uncertainty, should he really be in the category "Gay writers"? Gwimpey 09:02, Nov 6, 2004 (UTC)
 * I think Gwimpey is quite right--a minor change I made to the main text a while ago was meant to correct this problem--and I shall go ahead and remove the "gay writers" categorization. Hydriotaphia 02:36, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)

According to Martin Greif in "The Gay Book of Days" [],
 * "In a brilliant series of articles, endorsed by James's biographer Leon Edel, Richard Hall has shown that James was in love with his brother, the Harvard philosopher William James. This finally puts to rest the speculations that have ranged (honest Injun) from a severe lifelong case of constipation to having been hit in the nuts with a pump handle to explain why the famous writer seems never to have had a sex life. ... Late in life, James seems to have fallen for a sculptor thirty years his junior, but it is doubtful that anything remotely physical occurred." (pp69-70) and
 * "Walpole called him "my very dear Master" and James responded with "darling Hugh" and "my belovedest little Hugh." Little Hugh, the story goes, once attempted to seduce the virginal James, who promptly broke into tears and cried, "I can't... I can't." " (p53)

--Hugh7 04:56, 19 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Never heard the "breaking into tears" bit. This story gets better as time goes on. The whole anecdote is of doubtful provenance. Edel (Henry James: The Treacherous Years 1895-1901, p.316) traced the story to W. Somerset Maugham, who supposedly heard it from Walpole himself or maybe somebody else...


 * Maugham was a personal enemy of Walpole's and disliked James' work. You get the idea: don't believe everything you hear. As for the relationship between Henry and William, Edel thought there was a classic love-hate thing going on, with Henry actually more productive and happier when William wasn't around to cause feelings of inferiority (Henry James: The Untried Years 1843-1870, p.240-252). Who knows? Like much of Edel's other armchair psychiatry, this has been sharply challenged. One thing is certain: Henry kept the Atlantic Ocean between himself and his brother for almost his entire adult life. William was never very sympathetic to his brother's work and often dumped long letters on him full of harsh and (IMO) unfair criticism.


 * On the whole question of James' sex life or lack thereof, all the article and footnotes can do is stay neutral and refer the reader to web and print sources that discuss the issue. Casey Abell 13:00, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Here are a couple of links from a reliable source (The Guardian) that discuss his sexuality:
 * http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,1804674,00.html
 * "But as he points out, James also created some of the most memorable women characters of the period, which makes him fit meat for the feminists; and queer theory gets a look in, too, as gay critics debate exactly how repressed his (probable) homosexuality was."


 * http://books.guardian.co.uk/authors/author/0,,98508,00.html
 * "James's sexuality has been much discussed; he explained his celibacy by saying that 'to be led to the marriage bed is to be dead.' "

--205.188.116.197 08:16, 28 June 2006 (UTC)


 * I sourced the first Guardian quote&mdash;the one used in the article&mdash;to Terry Eagleton with a footnote consistent with the other notes in the article, and I added an NPOV tweak about the inherent uncertainty of the issue. By the way, the second Guardian quote is wrong. (So much for the "reliable source.") The statement "to be led to the marriage bed was to be dead" is not by James but rather by Leon Edel in his biography of James (Henry James: The Untried Years: 1843-1870, p.55). Edel's statement is a questionable speculation based on four names in one of the many lists of possible names for fictional characters found in James' Notebooks. Among many other names, the list (dated December 24, 1893) included "Ledward-Bedward-Dedward-Deadward", which gave Edel the idea for his speculation. Again, Leon's amateur psychology in his biography of James has been harshly questioned by other writers. In his Novels of Henry James (p.69) Edward Wagenknecht got particularly exercised about "the many reckless speculations, often presented as less conjecture than fact, by which he [Edel] allowed what might have been a definitive biography to be disfigured." Casey Abell 21:39, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Abacci books links
Also, and more generally, does anyone else object to all these links to etexts at Abacci books? I object because Abacci doesn't actually provide anything other than links to the Project Gutenberg plain texts, and there are better (as in more readable) editions out there on the web (e.g. my own ebooks site). Not to mention that Abacci is somewhat commercial -- when you go there, links to Amazon are prominent. I'd prefer to link users to one of the free etext directories, either the IPL or the Online Books page, both of which are pretty good at indexing available etexts (although neither indexes everything). User:pamplemousse


 * I've replaced them with a link to the Online Books page. You could have done it yourself. &mdash;Paul A 06:48, 13 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Opinionated tone
I agree that the tone of the piece is unnecessarily opinionated. It contains some statements that many scholars/readers of James would find problematic, including the attack on James' prose style as impenetrable and a preference for the novellas over the novels. Portrait of a Lady, The Wings of the Dove, and The Ambassadors are generally considered some of the greatest works in the English language. The discussion of James's sexuality is also a problem. While no thoughtful critic would deny that he had strong homoerotic attachments and in a different age might have been an active gay man, there is no evidence that he ever had a sexual relationship with either gender during his life. The automatic linkage between 'homosexual' and 'feminine' is stereotypical and offensive. --FtLouie
 * Above 4Jun04 P. Riis 18:31, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

NPOV, really?
The NPOV label was added by an anonymous user on 10Sept04, without comment. It looks like most of the things that people were concerned about previously have been taken care of. At least nobody's talking. The article clearly needs a bit of work, but is the NPOV label necessary? If there's a dispute, it's certainly low-grade. (Or Jamesian in its subtlety?) P. Riis 01:36, 15 Oct 2004 (UTC)

OK, it's been over a week and not a peep, so I took it off. If it still is a problem, feel free to put it back. P. Riis 15:12, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)

-I've replaced the NPOV because a number of the unsubstantiated comments about James' writing style and the silly way of referring to his sexual orientation remain without alteration. -FtLouie January 1st 2005


 * I suppose you all know all about Leon Edel and the decision not to discuss the letters that turned up while his multi-volume biography was appearing. No need to confuse anyone with facts....  --Wetman 00:06, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

"British American" author!
The latest in the string of Wikipedians working slightly beyond their level of competency here is this recategorization! --Wetman 00:06, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Astounding gender stereotyping
By what act of the gods of wiki can the phrase some of whose tastes and interests were rather feminine be deemed NPOV? Exactly which human traits are to be assigned to the feminine and which are masculine? I'm dying to know. Filiocht 15:55, Jan 31, 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, it's pretty bad. I tried to do something about it 6 months ago, but I just looked at my edit and realized I had basically evaded dealing with the problem. I have no idea what the original writer of that sentence was thinking, but let's put the best construction on it: perhaps s/he meant something like, "His tastes and interests were, according to the prevailing standards of Victorian Anglo-American culture, rather feminine." This, I think, would avoid the absurdities of the current version&mdash;and has the virtue of actually being true. (See Leon Edel's voluminous biography, passim, for information on how James's habits were&mdash;to his contemporaries&mdash;a little effeminate.) Hydriotaphia 04:50, Feb 1, 2005 (UTC)

Additions
I'm the guy responsible for the latest additions to the article. The last six paragraphs cover James' non-fiction and critical reputation. I tried to keep them as neutral and factual as possible.

I also added three sentences to the fifth paragraph on James' style. This has always been a contentious issue, and Edith Wharton's sour comments on James' later books have often been used to attack his prose. I just tried to balance the ledger by pointing out how, even in his later years, James often wrote in a very accessible manner by any standard.

The sexuality issue has been chatted about to an almost ridiculous extent. There's no convincing evidence that James ever had an actual physical relationship with anybody else. His letters to both men and women are often filled with expressions of affection, but it's never been shown that any of these expressions were acted out.

Generally, comments on James' sexuality tend to reveal more about the commenters (and I'm obviously included in their number) than about James. Right now the comments in the article are about as strong as can be supported by the evidence. I thought about adding some more qualifiers, but they probably aren't needed.

Incidentally, one of James' loudest critics for his supposed lack of masculinity was Teddy Roosevelt. James responded by labeling the president "Theodore Rex," a title used by Roosevelt's latest biographer. Wouldn't you know, when the two men finally met at a White House dinner, they chatted amiably and at length, as if they were the best of friends. --Casey Abell 14:18, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Thanks for all the great work you are doing on the James article. I like the way you have organized it. -- JJay 18:22, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

British author?
Is James ever really considered to be a British author? I thought he was pretty much universally considered American. While T.S. Eliot gets included in both the Norton Anthology of American Literature and the Norton Anthology of English Literature, James is included only in the former. It was always my understanding that he is basically considered an American writer. john k 02:39, 30 May 2005 (UTC)


 * Would it make more sense to list him as an "American-born" author, if he spent so much time in the Old World?

More additions
I tossed in three more paragraphs about the autobiography, biographies and published criticism of James. I also edited out a wildly wrong assertion that James dictated his last book while completely blind. Finally, I untangled a sentence on The Turn of the Screw to make the description of the story clearer, and added a few more details to various paragraphs.

A little reluctantly, I have wikified the entry with headings and a table of contents. Some Wikipedia articles seem top-heavy with this apparatus, but the Henry James article looks substantial enough to support it.

And in a trivial change I moved the photograph of James to the top of the page. Might as well have as accurate an image as possible to lead off the article. The Sargent black-and-white portrait is still in the article next to the "Works" section.

I keep throwing in more stuff. I added a brief bio section to begin the article. Can't hurt to have a few details of James' life, travels and career.

Humorous note: my attempted capitalizations of the headings keep getting reverted out. Okay, you win (smile). Casey Abell 15:02, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

Correction
I fixed something that bothered me about the article. I don't believe the comment about looking at the world through plate glass was from Verena in The Bostonians - it would be pretty steep for her - but rather from the Princess in The Princess Casamassima:

"Fancy the strange, the bitter fate: to be constituted as you are constituted, to feel the capacity that you must feel, and yet to look at the good things of life only through the glass of the pastry-cook’s window!" Casey Abell 18:43, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

Related articles
I'm going to write or revise articles for each of James' works listed in the main entry. There are over thirty of those references, so it'll take me a while. I started today with Roderick Hudson. I'll try to do one a day.

There's no way I can do articles for every single thing James wrote. You could make a book from the full list of James' writings...which is exactly what Leon Edel did with his James bibliography.

Just did a few touch-ups on the article about The Europeans. Didn't have to do much--the article was already substantial and well-written. I only tossed in a few more details, a little dash of criticism (including some of James' own comments), a note on the movie version, and a couple more links.

Tomorrow I'll write an article for The American. This is going to be a long slog. Casey Abell 00:04, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

Well, I'm about halfway through, up to The Sacred Fount on the list of James' works. I was able to use a lot of content from three previous articles: Daisy Miller, The Europeans, and The Turn of the Screw. The other titles either had nothing or just a few lines.

I thought it would be a tedious slog, but it's turned out to be fun so far. I've had to do a lot of rereading and rethinking about many of James' books. And nailing down the external links led to many nice finds, especially the very first publications of many books in The Atlantic and other magazines. Casey Abell 19:15, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

Just made the job tougher on myself by adding fifteen additional books to the list of James' works. Six novels: Watch and Ward, Confidence, The Reverberator, The Other House, The Ivory Tower, and The Sense of the Past. Five books of literary criticism: French Poets and Novelists, Hawthorne, Partial Portraits, Essays in London and Elsewhere, and Notes on Novelists. Two books of plays: Theatricals and Theatricals: Second Series. One biography: William Wetmore Story and His Friends. And one book of visual arts criticism: Picture and Text.

I'll get around to articles for all of them. This is starting to look like a lifelong project. Anyway, the main article now shows the complete range of James' writings. Casey Abell 06:46, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

More housekeeping: I broke the "Fiction" list into novels and tales. This is something of an arbitrary distinction. The Turn of the Screw is easily as long as many works by other authors called novels. But Edel sort of laid down the law: James' fiction divides into 22 novels (two unfinished) and 112 tales. The Library of America followed Leon's Law in their editions of James' novels and tales. You can quibble with the classification, but why fight Leon and the LoA?

A contributor put up an article on Paste. That's fine with me, though the article has been (unfairly!) marked for deletion. Paste is hardly one of James' greatest stories, but it's a charming trifle, a clever reversal of Maupassant's The Necklace. If we're going to have lots of articles on James' tales - and we've already got a bunch - we might as well have a separate list for them. Casey Abell 18:11, 19 December 2005 (UTC)


 * Thanks for your great work on the Henry James article. I like the way you have organized it. Ignore the detractors and naysayers below. -- JJay 18:23, 19 December 2005 (UTC)


 * Dude, you should really create a User page. Hydriotaphia 18:20, 19 December 2005 (UTC)


 * Oh, one of these days I'll get around to a user page. But I figure discussion of the Henry James article belongs on the, well, discussion page of the Henry James article (smile). Casey Abell 18:26, 19 December 2005 (UTC)


 * I'm not a detractor or naysayer! I too appreciate the work you've done here. I'm just saying, you might want to think about creating a user page. Hydriotaphia 21:59, 19 December 2005 (UTC)


 * Sorry, I was just kidding. Casey Abell, get a dang user page. -- JJay 22:02, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

Done!
Finally got through all the related articles on James' works referenced in the main entry. More than forty of them, and it was a long slog...and mostly enjoyable. Of course, additions, corrections, anything but vandalism are welcome on the related articles.

The funniest thing that happened was a brief NPOV dispute about, of all things, the article on A Small Boy and Others. The second funniest was a near-deletion of the article on Paste, which I still don't understand.

When I say "Done!" I should add a caveat. Sooner or later I'm going to write some more articles about James' shorter fictions. Right now we've only got eight articles, which is a pretty small sample for 112 tales.

But that'll have to wait. I'm written out right now. Casey Abell 16:57, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

More tweaks. Brought all the books I used for the related articles into the Reference section. Makes sense to have them all together for convenience. Also added quotes from James' secretary and two of his more important critics.

And in a fit of egoism, I self-nominated the entry for good article status. We'll see what happens. Casey Abell 00:26, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Looks like Fallout boy (not me, honest!) decided that the article was decent enough for good article status. Thanks for the approval, Fallout boy, and the nice compliments in the edit message! Of course, the whole idea of a "good article" list separate from the "featured article" list is still controversial. But it makes sense to me to have a lower tier of articles that are worth reading if not the very best in the encyclopedia. Casey Abell 18:52, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Just noticed that this article has moved up to eighth place on the Google search for "Henry James." We're still two notches below Henry James investment cast steel lugs. Not too sure what that means.

A halfway serious note: we're two notches above Adrian Dover's superb James site. We probably don't deserve that, but at least both sites are on the first page. Casey Abell 03:37, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

FA status and more related articles
Finally dragged this sucker through the featured article process. It was a genuine effort. The primary result was an expansion of the article with three new sections on the novels, the short narratives and the legacy. Mostly an improvement, I think. Another result was a blizzard of footnotes. I won't express an opinion on them.

I'm also winding up the related articles. I've added eight articles on the tales and will write four more. That will make sixty articles on James's various works. Gulp. Casey Abell 20:46, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

A couple recent edits seem a little strange to me. I prefer to give the titles of James' tales in italics with no quotation marks, but it's not worth fighting over. It does seem weird to clutter up the article with dozens of unnecessary quotation marks. Most web pages on The Turn of the Screw, for instance, don't bother with the punctuation&mdash;see here, here and here. And James' Notebooks entry on The Aspern Papers specifies a Shelley devotee (a certain Captain Silsbee) who was interested in papers from both Shelley and Byron. See this article for the gory details. Again, it's not worth fighting over. Casey Abell 15:49, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Things are getting a little strange with the quotation marks. We've now got The Turn of the Screw sometimes in italics and sometimes in quotation marks. Makes no difference to me. If I had my druthers, I'd just put all of James' works in italics and forget about it. But it's hardly worth an edit war. Casey Abell 13:15, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Worst nightmare...and a little hope
Henry James is scheduled as the main page article of the day on May 19. Expect tons of vandalism...and maybe, just maybe some helpful edits. At least the vandalism gets edited out pretty quickly when an article goes on the main page, because lots of people are watching. Casey Abell 13:45, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

Great article
And the photographs are awesome.--Anchoress 00:26, 19 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the compliment. The article has been cooking for a long time with many contributors. If I say so myself, it is one of the better articles I've seen on Wikipedia about literature, where the encyclopedia is sometimes a little weak compared to science and computer technology. Casey Abell 02:16, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Works?
Don't we normally list works by an author vertically as opposed to in a sort of running text?
 * True, but James wrote so much that an awful lot of white space resulted. I tried table formats, but they looked a little clunky when I previewed them. So I settled on the middle-dot format. At least there's not so much empty space any more. Casey Abell 02:16, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Films based on his works
This paragraph:

''In the late 20th century, many of James's novels were filmed by the team of Ismail Merchant & James Ivory, and this period saw a small resurgence of interest in his works. Among the best known of these are the short works Daisy Miller, Washington Square and The Turn of the Screw, and the novels The Portrait of a Lady, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, The Ambassadors and The American.''

is jarringly placed under "Style and Themes." It describes neither a style nor a theme, nor does it belong, as far as I can tell, under any other present heading. I'm not sure it is even germane to the James article proper. Perhaps a Films of Ismail Merchant & James Ivory article is the proper place for this information, with a link from the James article.

In any case, it must find its way under a new section heading.

Actually, this information is somewhat duplicated under "Legacy" as:

''Perhaps the most prominent examples of James's legacy in recent years have been the film versions of several of his novels and stories. The Merchant-Ivory movies were mentioned earlier, but a number of other filmmakers have based productions on James's fiction. The Iain Softley-directed version of The Wings of the Dove (1997) was successful with both critics and audiences. Helena Bonham Carter received an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress for her memorable portrayal of Kate Croy. Jane Campion tried her hand with The Portrait of a Lady (1996) but with much less success. In earlier times Jack Clayton's The Innocents (1961) brought "The Turn of the Screw"' to vivid life on film, and William Wyler's The Heiress (1949) did the same for Washington Square.''

but the top paragraph should still be merged into the lower one.


 * You're right. The sentences about Merchant-Ivory and the best-known works actually date back to the original entry, almost four years ago. They've gotten stuck in the article ever since. It's a little like how the original anecdote about Howells got stuck in The Ambassadors, as James discusses in the New York Edition preface. I'll move the material to the Legacy section. Casey Abell 12:01, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 14:56, 1 May 2016 (UTC)

James and Hemingway
Regarding the Hemingway quote ("Did you ever read Henry James? He was a great writer who came to Venice and looked out the window and smoked his cigar and thought"):

I haven't read an extraordinary amount of James, so I can't offer a completely expert opinion on what Hemingway meant. When one thinks of James and Venice, the terrific "Aspern Papers" obviously leap out. But I think it's more likely Hemingway had James' preface to Portrait in mind. The first paragraphs deal with James' experience writing in Venice. This is particularly of interest:

"I had rooms on Riva Schiavoni, at the top of a house near the passage leading off to San Zaccaria; the waterside life, the wondrous lagoon spread before me, and the ceaseless human chatter of Venice came in at my windows, to which I seem to myself have been constantly driven, in the fruitless fidget of composition, as if to see whether, out in the blue channel, the ship of some right suggestion, of some better phrase, of the next happy twist of my subject, the next true touch for my canvas, mightn't come into sight."

Hemingway may draw his picture of Henry James looking out of his Venice window, smoking and thinking, from these lines (the cigar being Hemingway's imaginative addition).

Lastly, there's another James-Hemingway connection that may have a place somewhere in the article. In The Sun Also Rises, Jake Barnes and Bill Gorton refer to Henry James (pps. 120-21 in the latest Scribner paperback edition, which I think is the standard). They're talking about the accident that evidently left Jake impotent, and Bill mentions James' mysterious accident. If this tidbit fits into the article, I'm not sure what the best place for it would be (maybe in the Legacy section with the other Hemingway stuff, or maybe in some sort of trivia section).


 * Yep, James's "obscure hurt" gets a mention in The Sun Also Rises. I guess the reference could be included in the article, but the Legacy section would get pretty long if we started writing about every reference to James in every book. Hemingway's 1954 letter seemed much more on-topic and frankly touching, considering Papa's encounter with the shotgun a few years later. Down the road, we might want to start spinning off separate articles about James' life, the sexuality issue (including the "obscure hurt"), his legacy, his critical reputation, his style, etc. This was actually suggested in the article's FAC, and something similar has been done with Shakespeare.


 * As for the Portrait of a Lady preface, it's possible that Hemingway had it in mind. But the unnamed narrator of The Aspern Papers actually smokes a cigar in Venice at one point in the story, unlike James in the preface. Really obscure trivia: Vladimir Nabokov got irate that James referred to the "tip" of a cigar. Nabokov insisted that the end of a cigar was blunt, so it shouldn't be called a "tip." (He was actually talking about What Maisie Knew, but the same gripe applies to The Aspern Papers.) Of course, from any distance at all, the tip of a cigar is, as Freud might say, just the tip of a cigar.


 * Anyway, I think it's a little unlikely that Hemingway waded through the New York Edition prefaces. It's much more probable that he read The Aspern Papers, one of James' most celebrated stories. But as I said in the article, Hemingway's allusion may be completely accidental. By the way, the Adeline Tintner book referenced in the footnotes offers twelve interesting pages of material on James and Hemingway. Casey Abell 12:38, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Version 0.5
Thanks for the nomination and selection! Lots of people worked on the article since its inception almost four years ago, and they all deserve credit. Thanks again. Casey Abell 04:21, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

proposed new external link
I'd like to add a link like: to the 'External Links' section. This links to a list of James works that you can download to read on a cell phone. I have read quite a few from this site and got a lot of value out being able to read the PD texts away from the PC.
 * Free to read on a cell phone - Henry James works.

The texts are Public Domain in the US, just like Project Gutenberg, they are packaged with the reader and available under a creative commons licence (share if (attribution, non-commercial, no derivative) ). The site is non-commercial without registration, subscription, or advertising. The texts as packaged together with the reader as a java program that runs on cell phones, this is a way for people to access the authors work that adds to the range in the existing external links (hopefully translating to more reading going on).

I checked WP:EL and the link seems appropriate: Filomath 13:06, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
 * What should be linked: '...should link to a site hosting a copy of the work if none of the "Links normally to be avoided" criteria apply.'
 * Links normally to be avoided: it seems only #8 might apply; 'Direct links to documents that require external applications (such as Flash or Java) to view the relevant content...'. The site lets you download java programs that only run on a J2ME environment, this means most/all current cell phones. So although they are limited to being read on a phone they do add an access method to all the others in the existing External Links, in the same way that LibriVox adds a format but requires an mp3 player.

hippo
While Wells did in fact say those words, the source cited in fn. 24 does not now seem to have the word hippo in it. Kdammers (talk) 04:41, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

partial redraft
I have begun and am now posting a partial redraft of the whole article, tightening the initial summary, adding detail to the biography (particularly to take fuller account of James's theatrical work), and adding fuller discussion of the secondary literature. I am interrupted at this stage, but will add some further details and full citations in the bibliography as soon as I can. I have not deleted anything of substance, except a paragraph-long footnote on James "failure" at Harvard, a curious way to describe the beginning of his literary career.Sheldon Novick (talk) 17:38, 12 December 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't nkow how you'll like it, but I've redrafted the Psychological Characterisations section. Mostly this was a matter of moving material around to put like with like, as it seemed to have grown by a process of accretion so that the section as a whole lacked coherence. One major departure from this was to move part of a footnote up into the main text - it seemed to be quite important information, and footnotes should best be kept for references. I've also edited some material out altogether, where it seemed to be extremely minor and to interrupt the expository flow. PiCo (talk) 02:56, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

Thank you, the changes were needed.

I have now posted most of my overall revision of the article, which seemed to need updating and revisions for clarity and focus. As PiCo notes, it has been growing by accretion. Of course, no criticism of enormous and valuable work that has already gone into the article is intended. The main changes are organizational - separating the account of James's life and career from the various interpretations and commentaries. Other changes I hope are self-explanatory - mostly adding recent criticism and a wider view of the secondary literature. I have deleted only some minor comments, mostly in footnotes, that seem repetitive or our of proportion to the topic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sheldon Novick (talk • contribs) 21:52, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

Dr. Watson has reverted a couple of paragraphs of my redraft without comment or explanation, and as his one-paragraph version has some errors and omissions (confusing Bologna and Boulogne, for instance) I have reverted to my version. Would be glad to hear what objections he has.Sheldon Novick (talk) 21:04, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Sexual incapacity?
According to this article, there is "general belief" that James was sexually incapable due to an "unfortunate household accident ... early in life" (I disclaim all responsibility for the egregious coyness). Any confirmation, either for the accident or for the assertion that this is "general belief"? Cactus Wren (talk) 08:35, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Versions of this silly story constantly reappear, partly because of Ernest Hemingway's fascination with such gossip. (See "James and Hemingway," above.)The slim basis is the mention in James's memoirs of father and brother that he suffered an "obscure hurt" while pumping water for a volunteer fire brigade; all biographers agree that the obscure - i.e. hidden - hurt was his back trouble, which is well documented. There is an Internet legend now circulating that he sat on a hot stove, for which there is not even the justification of a misunderstanding. So, no "general belief" and most likely no impotence. But you can't kill a juicy rumor. Sheldon Novick (talk) 02:38, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
 * I've had that story told me in utter earnestness. Though the idea that James was at some point castrated (and the possibility of Jamesian testes pickling in a jar somewhere) does set my heart aflutter.
 * Just sayin' the roof of this court is too high to be yours (talk) 23:06, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

Marianne Moore comments
Marianne Moore has some interesting things to say about James. Two essays' worth, I think. If someone can find a legitimate link to these comments, that would be good to include. Someone could also incorporate some quotes from her into the article. 66.41.253.22 (talk) 22:28, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

Additional Book?
I came across a book recently not listed in the bibliography called "The Art of the Novel" by Henry James, a collection of prefaces written by the authour of all of his novels. Just thought it should be included somewhere. ASybariteLife (talk) 05:52, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Sturgis quote & Sexuality Qualifiers
I added the Sturgis quote because that link hasn't been properly investigated even by the HJ industry, in terms of its context i.e. the fact that HJ was on the perimeter and sometimes participated in a lively homosexual social circle. For example, Sturgis still doesn't have a biography (not even a Wikipedia entry!), yet he was a seminal figure in the lives of many, was as camp as Christmas (see his highly amusing letters in James Lees Milne's The Enigmatic Edwardian), and he and his boyfriend's estate, Queens Acre, seems to have performed a similar role to the home of marsala heiress Tina Whitaker in Sicily (see Raleigh Trevelyan's Princes Under The Volcano), in being a drop-in centre for every rich and cosmopolitan homosexual in C19th England: from E.F. Bensen to Ronald Gower to James.

Need it be said: more nonsense is written about HJ than possibly any other C19th literary figure. Reflecting the worst of this, the HJ page is a ghastly mess of qualifiers. Surely the HJ Sexuality academia industry should be reigned here with a single statement, rather than than all over the shop as it is at present. Something as straightforward as possible, along the lines of: 'HJ's subtleties, ambiguities, and evasions have made his sexuality a minefield for scholars. Most presume he was either homosexual or bisexual, but whether he ever had sexual intercourse with another male cannot be conclusively proven." Engleham 24 July 2006 And whether he ever had sexual intercourse with a woman ?


 * Any article about James is going to need some qualifiers. That's just the nature of the beast (in the jungle). But I don't think the article is "ghastly." Judging from its selection as an FA and its recent inclusion in the Version 0.5 project, the article looks pretty good to outside reviewers compared to most on Wikipedia. The introduction of quotes from James' letters in the Life section slightly expands the article, but hardly turns it into a mess. After all, some mention should be made of Woolson and Andersen, because they take up so much space in the biographies. And it doesn't hurt to have some examples of James' letters in the section.


 * If the Life section expanded to ten times its previous size, that would be a little ridiculous. But it's still quite short compared to the article overall. As for your suggested statement, the article already says that the issue as to whether James ever experienced an actual sexual relationship may well be irresolvable. Right now I think the Life section is reasonably complete, balanced and qualified&mdash;and far from a ghastly mess. It's only about 900 words, after all, though I'll admit that footnotes are splattered all over. But the footnotes are the price of FA status. As I've said before, down the road we might want to spin off a separate, much longer biographical article on James. Casey Abell 13:44, 24 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Just did a complete word count. The Life section amounts to about 900 words out of 5600 in the entire article (exclusive of footnotes, which I'll concede are out of control, but I had to consent to them to get the article through FAC). Hardly seems unreasonable that about one-sixth of the article should be devoted to the biography. One reviewer on FAC wanted 10,000 words about The Portrait of a Lady alone. Casey Abell 14:15, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

As usual, allegations without proof. Wikipedia's biographical equivalent of cinematic car chases and explosions.Lestrade (talk) 00:28, 24 July 2010 (UTC)Lestrade

The Three Periods
This article could require clarification re the three periods into which James' work is customarily divided. Here the three periods are given unclear outline and no useful source for a fuller discussion of those periods is provided. Here the first period is said to extend up to and including Portrait of a Lady but I have frequently seen Portrait identified as a middle period work. If there is disagreement, perhaps that could be incorporated into the article. mcoverdale (talk) 16:49, 1 July 2012 (UTC)

Hello friend! Just about the " Henry James" life on Wikipedia. "He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James." What is the meaning of "clergyman" in this context? Thanks a lot in advance! 31.190.10.129 (talk) 09:34, 19 August 2012 (UTC) was Henry James Sr. studied at the Princeton Theological Seminary but did not complete his studies and was never ordained. He later became an enthusiastic (but idiosyncratic) Swedenborgian, writing and lecturing on Swedenborg-flavoured theological topics. But I think "clergyman" (and "theologian", as he's described in the article Henry James, Sr.) are probably inaccurate and should be changed. Thanks a lot in advance for your contributions on the topic! 128.45.154.246 (talk) 17:07, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

"The story of It" publication date?
Does anyone know the publication year of "The Story of It"? I added it to the bibliography but I couldn't find the year of publication anywhere. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Executive Editor at MC (talk • contribs) 13:56, 25 October 2012 (UTC)

More....
More big blocks of uncited and tagged potential Original research issues:
 * Early biographies of James echoed the unflattering picture of him drawn in early criticism. F.W. Dupee, as noted above, characterised James as neurotically withdrawn and fearful, and although Dupee lacked access to primary materials his view has remained persuasive in academic circles, partly because Leon Edel's massive five-volume work, published from 1953 to 1972, seemed to buttress it with extensive documentation. Michael Anesko, Fred Kaplan, and Sheldon Novick, working from primary materials, have disputed the factual basis of Dupee's and Edel's accounts. Other critics and biographers have disputed Edel's interpretations and conclusions. James has also figured in at least a half-dozen novels. Colm Tóibín used an extensive list of biographies of Henry James and his family for his widely admired 2004 novel, The Master, which is a third person narrative with James as the central character, and deals with specific episodes from his life during the period between 1895 and 1899. Author, Author, a novel by David Lodge published in the same year, was based on James's efforts to conquer the stage in the 1890s. In 2002 Emma Tennant published Felony: The Private History of The Aspern Papers, a novel that fictionalised the relationship between James and American novelist Constance Fenimore Woolson and the possible effects of that relationship on The Aspern Papers.
 * The published criticism of James's work has reached enormous proportions. The volume of criticism of The Turn of the Screw alone has become extremely large for such a brief work. The Henry James Review, published three times a year, offers criticism of James's entire range of writings, and many other articles and book-length studies appear regularly. Some guides to this extensive literature can be found on the external sites listed below.
 * Legacy
 * Perhaps the most prominent examples of James's legacy in recent years have been the film versions of several of his novels and stories. Three of James's novels were filmed by the team of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory: The Europeans (1978), The Bostonians (1984) and The Golden Bowl (2000). The Iain Softley-directed version of The Wings of the Dove (1997) was successful with both critics and audiences, and Helena Bonham Carter received an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress for her memorable portrayal of Kate Croy. Agnieszka Holland's Washington Square (1997) was well received by critics, and Jane Campion tried her hand with The Portrait of a Lady (1996) but with much less success. In earlier times Jack Clayton's The Innocents (1961) brought The Turn of the Screw to vivid life on film, and William Wyler's The Heiress (1949), adapted from Washington Square, won four Academy Awards, including a Best Actress award for Olivia de Havilland as Catherine Sloper.
 * Most of James's work has remained continuously in print since its first publication, and he continues to be a major figure in realist fiction, influencing generations of novelists. James has allowed the genre of the novel to become worthy of a literary critic's attention. James has formulated a theory of fiction that many today still discuss and debate. Testifying to his importance, a character named "Henry James" appears in at least a half-dozen novels, as noted above, the best-known of which is The Master by Colm Toibin. Such disparate writers as Joyce Carol Oates with Accursed Inhabitants of the House of Bly (1994), Louis Auchincloss with The Ambassadress (1950), Tom Stoppard with The Real Thing (1982), and Alan Hollinghurst with The Line of Beauty (2004) were explicitly influenced by James's works. James was definitely out of his element when it came to music, but Benjamin Britten's operatic version of "The Turn of the Screw" (1954) has become one of the composer's most popular works. William Tuckett converted the story into a ballet in 1999.

-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 06:44, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

List if works by Henry James
Any thoughts about moving his list of works to a separate page - to keep the long article focused on his biography?-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 06:56, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

Notes / citation example
I went to try and clear up one of the citation needed / notes issues and found that the section in question is in many books and the note was actually a footnote from within the book. But the books don't seem to have page numbers, they are PT numbers.

See Henry James last couple of sentences in that section.

I'm not sure how to handle this particular situations. Does anyone else know?-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 11:05, 27 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Hi Carole, nice work you're doing here! I think these books took this material from here, and if so, should have Template:Backwardscopy on the talk page. The books you link to seem to have been published in 2009 and if that material was added before (can be checked in history) then it's a pretty good bet that's what happened. Might not be a bad idea to rewrite the section too if it's hard to verify - but probably will need a James biography. If the text was added after 2009 (sorry, haven't checked!) then it's copyvio and should be removed. Victoria (tk) 17:38, 31 January 2014 (UTC)

Aren't the novels part of his career in letters?
This bio section is a mess. The largest part, the second, title "career in letters" is at least 3/4 about his failed stage career and almost entirely excludes mention of his career as a novelist. That doesn't make much sense any way you cut it. If you only read the bio section and knew nothing about Henry James, you'd have absolutely no idea that he was one of the most famous American novelists to ever live. 71.14.84.247 (talk) 03:17, 27 August 2014 (UTC)MOB

please list publications
I've noticed that many entries about writers list their works in a separate section which would be very convenient for people like me who just want to check one thing and don't have the time to read the whole entry while hunting for just one book James wrote. Encyclopedic entries aren't supposed to be scholarly articles wherein the writer leisurely discusses an author's life and publications although I do get the impression some of his novels are missing from the entry (?). Rissa, copy editor (talk) 02:01, 2 October 2014 (UTC)

The third period of James's career reached its most significant achievement in three novels published just around the start of the 20th century.
The three novels are apparently not listed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pdgillen (talk • contribs) 02:06, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
Maybe a reference to Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Epistemology of the Closet, 1990 should be added to clarify HJ's sexuality. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.198.128.92 (talk) 04:11, 21 February 2016 (UTC)

Adaptations templates
, Can you explain this edit. I came by to add the newly created Washington Square to this page and noticed that The Turn of the Screw is no longer present. It seems to me that adaptations content should be presented in navboxes and this is a good way to do so.--TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 15:50, 29 December 2016 (UTC)

Poor Wilky and Poor Bob
Just noticed there is no mention of Henry James' younger brothers Garth Wilkinson and Robert James in the article. Victoria Coulson (American Lit lecturer at York) has written a fantastic book called "Henry James, Women and Realism", and Ch1 on Alice James briefly goes over the James family life. I think what's exceptional about these two is how little they achieved compared to Henry and William James, and, more importantly, how they were regarded by the family -- as "pitiable... troublesome outcasts", as "figures of pity, disapproval and tempered distaste", and as "poor Wilky" and "poor Bob". Their deaths commanded little attention from the James family (Wilky in 1883 and Bob in 1910); Wilky's drew a little sympathy while Bob's "was greeted as if overdue".

Anyway, I think Garth Wilkinson James and Robertson James bear at least mentioning in the article, if only how they were seen as familial outcasts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.58.132.101 (talk) 19:37, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Agreed. Kaplan has a reasonable amount to say about them in his bio, though they mostly play a peripheral role there- except at one or two contentious family points (Will distribution...) Schissel | Sound the Note! 15:30, 20 February 2017 (UTC)

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British author?
The article says James was an expatriate, presumably his patria being the United States. If James is an American-born British novelist, as the article states, was Auden a British-born American poet? All the literary anthologies I've used consider James an American writer and Auden a British poet. Did anyone in England consider James British? Jim Lacey (talk) 20:25, 18 August 2009 (UTC)
 * I'd say that's a very good question, and that the burden of proof is on the article to prove its claim that James is a British author (because he is in the categories of both American authors and British authors). I'd say that at present, the article does not sufficiently prove that James was British, gives no dates of his move(s) to Britain, and only establishes that he became a British citizen "shortly before his death." Does that mean on his deathbed? If so, I hardly think that counts, no matter if he has an OM or not. More specific info is needed in the article about all of this stuff, and citations from authoritative works (non-British, I'd say) that consider him a British author (or American author). If most of his subject matter was American, I'd say the fact that, like Hemingway, he lived abroad doesn't matter. I'm not convinced from the article that Britain has as much right to claim him as it does Joseph Conrad. Also, take a look at the T.S. Eliot article. All of that said, the article should cover both sides of the issue/debate, rather than making a unilateral uncited/unproven claim. Softlavender (talk) 11:41, 18 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Update: Edited for neutrality and added dates. Softlavender (talk) 12:10, 22 September 2009 (UTC)


 * I don't think you can really say he was a British author, despite the fact that he lived much of his life in Britain and took British nationality in 1915 (I added a reference to an article that discusses the date on which he did this). He was staunchly American, even though he probably considered himself a foreigner after living abroad for so many years. He did, after all, call his summation of his works the New York edition, not the Rye edition. I changed the lead accordingly, to say "was an American author who expatriated to England, and who acquired British nationality near the end of his life"Kirkmc (talk) 15:11, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

Someone during the last 8 years reverted to "American-born British author". I changed the language to something suggested by the previous talk page entry -- I tried to chart a middle course between American and European in my wording. I hope and believe James himself would have approved of my careful ambiguity. I just want to note that James' Americanness informed most of his most famous novels, and glossing over it is ridiculous, even though he did spend much of his life in England / Europe. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.6.194.165 (talk) 00:54, 12 August 2017 (UTC)

Article improvement ideas
Here are some ideas that I'm thinking about to improve the article:
 * Create a new section "notes", rename "notes" to citations and attempt to isolate where there are actual sources and where inline citations are needed
 * Identify which of the "sources" are actually used in the article, where possible and put others in a "Further reading section
 * Providing citation information for the content that does not really have a citation
 * Move "works" over into it's own article, like Mark Twain bibliography
 * Review the information that I moved to the talk page earlier to identify sources of information and move the content back.

That's my thinking - are there any other opinions about how to bring this back to a better condition? I am going to press on, but will be checking for responses to ensure we're in synch.-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 06:05, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

The idea that James believed in the greatest freedom possible for novelists sounds good, but it was only ever a pronouncement as in practical fact he had some fairly rigid rules which he wanted to apply, chiefly around how point of view was best created and deployed, and by which he judged contemporary novelists. See his two-part piece in TLS in, I think, 1911 (?). In other words, if the article is to be improved, it needs to do better in reflecting James's authoritarian side, particularly his tendency to lay down the law to other artistic workers. Theonemacduff (talk) 21:35, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

Clarify, please
Henry had just joined William from an unsuccessful search for relief in Europe on what then turned out to be his (Henry's) last visit to the United States...
 * 'Relief' from what? Valetude (talk) 09:26, 8 July 2019 (UTC)

James and Kipling
Seeing that many names are mentioned of literary figures that he met, it is strange there is no mention of Kipling. He gave away the bride at Kipling's wedding in 1892. How much they saw of each other I do not know, but I believe they met quite often later on when James was living at Rye and Kipling not far away at Burwash. James had things to say about Kipling, and Kipling admired James. Seadowns (talk) 16:16, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

Burial place
The article presently states that James was buried in “Cambridge cemetery, Massachusetts”. However, there is no cemetery by that name to my knowledge. The main cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts is Mount Auburn cemetery - is that the one that is meant? -Wwallacee (talk) 09:18, 30 May 2020 (UTC)
 * You are incorrect. There is indeed a Cambridge Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a municipal one, just down the street from Mount Auburn Cemetery (no affiliation, as Mount Auburn is private). --Midnightdreary (talk) 16:18, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

Uncited information
There are tags that are three years old for uncited text - and WP:Original research tag. Perhaps someone knows of sources for the following:

under Career in letters

 * end of 1st paragraph: that reflected a lifelong interest in the actor's art. From an early age James read, criticised, and learned from the classics of English, American, French, Italian, German and (in translation) Russian literature. In 1863, he anonymously published his first short story, A Tragedy of Error. Until his fiftieth year he supported himself by writing, principally by contributing extensively to illustrated monthly magazines in the United States and Great Britain, but after his sister's death in 1892 his royalties were supplemented by a modest income from the family's properties in Syracuse, New York.
 * Until late in life his novels were serialised in magazines before book publication, and he wrote the monthly instalments as they were due, allowing him little opportunity to revise the final work. To supplement his income he also wrote frequently for newspapers, and from 1863 to his death he maintained a strenuous schedule of publication in a variety of genres and media. In his criticism of fiction, the theatre, and painting he developed ideas concerning the unity of the arts; he wrote two full-length biographies, two volumes of memoirs of his childhood and a long fragment of autobiography; 22 novels, including two left unfinished at his death, 112 tales of varying lengths, fifteen plays, and dozens of travel and topical essays.
 * He heavily revised his major novels and many of his stories for a selected edition of his fiction, whose twenty-three volumes formed an artistic autobiography which he called "The New York Edition" to emphasise his continuing ties to the city of his birth. In his essay The Art of Fiction, and in prefaces to each volume of The New York Edition, James explained his views of the art of fiction, emphasising the importance to him of realist portrayals of character as seen through the eyes and thoughts of an embodied narrator.
 * Biographer Leon Edel was the first to call attention to the importance of the "theatrical years" 1890–1895 for James's later work. Following the commercial failure of his novel The Tragic Muse, in 1890, James renounced novel writing and dedicated himself to short fiction and plays, which he described as related forms. Between 1890 and 1895, he sketched in his notebooks plots and themes of nearly all his later novels, which he first conceived as short stories or plays. The structure of his late novels was "scenic" in James's special sense, in that they followed the scene-by-scene structure of a French play in the classical mode, and he freely translated short stories into plays and vice versa. The use of an observer's consciousness and the sense of the action as a performance became most marked in James's fiction in and after the 1890s. Failing to make a commercial success on the stage, however, and finding that the stresses of theatrical work were difficult to sustain, he returned to the writing of long, serialised novels, which again became the mainstay of his income. With his new private income as well, he was able to maintain a country house and rooms in London.
 * James returned to the United States in 1904–1905 for a lecture tour to recoup his finances and to visit his family. His essays describing that visit, published as The American Scene, were perhaps his most important work of social commentary. In them he described the rise of commerce and democracy, the impact of free immigration on American culture, and his agonised sense that his deeply felt American nationality was threatened by these upheavals.-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 06:25, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

under James biographers

 * This seemed to support literary critics like Van Wyck Brooks and Vernon Parrington who had condemned James's expatriation and criticised his work as effeminate and deracinated; Leon Edel used it as the premise of his influential biography which held the field for many years.-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 06:25, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

under Style and Theme

 * and observers do often group his works of fiction into three periods. In his apprentice years, culminating with the masterwork The Portrait of a Lady, his style was simple and direct (by the standards of Victorian magazine writing) and he experimented widely with forms and methods, generally narrating from a conventionally omniscient point of view. Plots generally concern romance, except for the three big novels of social commentary that conclude this period. In the second period, as noted above, he abandoned the serialised novel and from 1890 to about 1897
 * Some critics have claimed that the more elaborate manner was a result of James taking up the practice of dictating to a secretary.
 * The late style does become more difficult in the years when he dictates, but James also was able to revise typewritten drafts more extensively, and his few surviving drafts show that the later works are more heavily revised and redrafted. In some cases this leads critics to prefer the earlier, unrevised versions of some works because the older style is thought to be closer to the original conception and spirit of the work, Daisy Miller being a case in point: most of the current reprints of this novel contain the unrevised text. On the other hand, the late revision of the early novel The Portrait of a Lady is generally much preferred to the first edition, even by those who dislike the late style, because of the power of the imagery and the depth of characterisation, while his shorter late fiction, such as The Turn of the Screw, is considered highly accessible and remains popular with readers.-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 06:25, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

One of the best remarks I know about him is Edith Wharton's "He chews more than he can bite off". Can anyone reference this? Seadowns (talk) 21:57, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

Short narratives

 * Just as the contrast between Europe and America was a predominant theme in James's early novels, many of his first tales also explored the clash between the Old World and the New. In "A Passionate Pilgrim" (1871), the earliest fiction that James included in the New York Edition, the difference between America and Europe erupts into open conflict, which leads to a sadly ironic ending. The story's technique still seems somewhat inexpert, with passages of local color description occasionally interrupting the flow of the narrative. But James manages to craft an interesting and believable example of what he would call the "Americano-European legend".
 * James published many stories before what would prove to be his greatest success with the readers of his time, "Daisy Miller" (1878). This story portrays the confused courtship of the title character, a free-spirited American girl, by Winterbourne, a compatriot of hers with much more sophistication. His pursuit of Daisy is hampered by her own flirtatiousness, which is frowned upon by the other expatriates they meet in Switzerland and Italy. Her lack of understanding of the social mores of the society she so desperately wishes to enter ultimately leads to tragedy.
 * As James moved on from studies of the Europe-America clash and the American girl in his novels, his shorter works also explored new subjects in the 1880s. "The Aspern Papers" (1888) is one of James's best-known and most acclaimed longer tales. The storyline is based on an anecdote that James heard about a Shelley devotee who tried to obtain some valuable letters written by the poet. Set in a brilliantly described Venice, the story demonstrates James's ability to generate almost unbearable suspense while never neglecting the development of his characters. Another fine example of the middle phase of James's career in short narrative is "The Pupil" (1891), the story of a precocious young boy growing up in a mendacious and dishonorable family. He befriends his tutor, who is the only adult in his life that he can trust. James presents their relationship with sympathy and insight, and the story reaches what some have considered the status of classical tragedy.
 * "The Altar of the Dead", first published in James's collection Terminations in 1895 after the story failed of magazine publication, is a fable of literally life and death significance. The story explores how the protagonist tries to keep the remembrance of his dead friends, to save them from being forgotten entirely in the rush of everyday events. He meets a woman who shares his ideals, only to find that the past places what seems to be an impassable barrier between them. Although James was not religious in any conventional sense, the story shows a deep spirituality in its treatment of mortality and the transcendent power of unselfish love.
 * The final phase of James's short narratives shows the same characteristics as the final phase of his novels: a more involved style, a deeper psychological approach, and a sharper focus on his central characters. Probably his most popular short narrative among today's readers, "The Turn of the Screw" (1898) is a ghost story that has lent itself well to operatic and film adaptation. With its possibly ambiguous content and powerful narrative technique, the story challenges the reader to determine if the protagonist, an unnamed governess, is correctly reporting events or is instead an unreliable neurotic with an overheated imagination. To further muddy the waters, her written account of the experience—a frame tale—is being read many years later at a Christmas house party by someone who claims to have known her.
 * "The Beast in the Jungle" (1903) is almost universally considered to be one of James's finest short narratives, and has often been compared with The Ambassadors in its meditation on experience or the lack of it. The story also treats other universal themes: loneliness, fate, love and death. The parable of John Marcher and his peculiar destiny speaks to anyone who has speculated on the worth and meaning of human life. Among his last efforts in short narrative, "The Jolly Corner" (1908) is usually held to be one of James's best ghost stories. The tale describes the adventures of Spencer Brydon as he prowls the now-empty New York house where he grew up. Brydon encounters a "sensation more complex than had ever before found itself consistent with sanity".-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 06:25, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

under major novels
-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 06:25, 19 January 2014 (UTC)
 * James believed a novel must be organic. Parts of the novel need to go together and the relationship must fit the form. If a reader enjoys a work of art or piece of writing, then they must be able to explain why. The very fact that every reader has different tastes, lends to the belief that artists should have artistic freedom to write in any way they choose to talk about subject matter that could possibly interest everyone.
 * Although Roderick Hudson featured mostly American characters in a European setting, James made the Europe–America contrast even more explicit in his next novel. In fact, the contrast could be considered the leading theme of The American (1877). This book is a combination of social comedy and melodrama concerning the adventures and misadventures of Christopher Newman, an essentially good-hearted but rather gauche American businessman on his first tour of Europe. Newman is looking for a world different from the simple, harsh realities of 19th-century American business. He encounters both the beauty and the ugliness of Europe, and learns not to take either for granted.
 * Washington Square (1880) is a deceptively simple tragicomedy that recounts the conflict between a dull but sweet daughter and her brilliant, domineering father. The book is often compared to Jane Austen's work for the clarity and grace of its prose and its intense focus on family relationships. James was not particularly enthusiastic about Jane Austen, so he might not have regarded the comparison as flattering. In fact, James was not enthusiastic about Washington Square itself. He tried to read it over for inclusion in the New York Edition of his fiction (1907–09) but found that he could not. So he excluded the novel from the edition. But other readers have enjoyed the book enough to make it one of the popular works in the Jamesian canon. Washington Square was turned into a dramatic musical-opera in 1972 by Jerome Walman.
 * The Bostonians (1886) is a bittersweet tragicomedy that centres on Basil Ransom, an unbending political conservative from Mississippi; Olive Chancellor, Ransom's cousin and a zealous Boston feminist; and Verena Tarrant, a pretty protégée of Olive's in the feminist movement. The storyline concerns the contest between Ransom and Olive for Verena's allegiance and affection, though the novel also includes a wide panorama of political activists, newspaper people, and quirky eccentrics.
 * James followed with The Princess Casamassima (1886), the story of an intelligent but confused young London bookbinder, Hyacinth Robinson, who becomes involved in far left politics and a terrorist assassination plot. The book is something of a lone sport in the Jamesian canon for dealing with such a violent political subject. But it is often paired with The Bostonians, which is also concerned with political issues.
 * Just as James was beginning his ultimately disastrous attempt to conquer the stage, he wrote The Tragic Muse (1890). This novel offers a wide, cheerful panorama of English life and follows the fortunes of two would-be artists: Nick Dormer, who vacillates between a political career and his efforts to become a painter, and Miriam Rooth, an actress striving for artistic and commercial success. A huge cast of supporting characters help and hinder their pursuits. The book reflects James's consuming interest in the theatre and is often considered to mark the close of the second or middle phase of his career.
 * After the failure of his "dramatic experiment" James returned to his fiction and began to probe his characters' consciousness. His style started to grow in complexity to reflect the greater depth of his analysis. The Spoils of Poynton (1897) is a half-length novel that describes the struggle between Mrs. Gereth, a widow of impeccable taste and iron will, and her son Owen over a houseful of precious antique furniture. The story is largely told from the viewpoint of Fleda Vetch, a young woman in love with Owen but sympathetic to Mrs Gereth's anguish over losing the antiques she patiently collected.
 * James continued the more involved, psychological approach to his fiction with What Maisie Knew (1897), the story of the sensitive daughter of divorced and irresponsible parents. The novel has great contemporary relevance as an unflinching account of a wildly dysfunctional family.
 * The next published of the three novels, The Ambassadors (1903), is a dark comedy that follows the trip of protagonist Lewis Lambert Strether to Europe in pursuit of his widowed fiancée's supposedly wayward son. Strether is to bring the young man back to the family business, but he encounters unexpected complications. The third-person narrative is told exclusively from Strether's point of view. In his preface to the New York Edition text of the novel, James placed this book at the top of his achievements, which has occasioned some critical disagreement. The Golden Bowl (1904) is a complex, intense study of marriage and adultery that completes the "major phase" and, essentially, James's career in the novel. The book explores the tangle of interrelationships between a father and daughter and their respective spouses. The novel focuses deeply and almost exclusively on the consciousness of the central characters, with sometimes obsessive detail and powerful insight.

under Life section

 * His brother is William James the philosopher. In his youth James travelled back and forth between Europe and America. He studied with tutors in Geneva, London, Paris, Bologna, and Bonn. At the age of 19 he briefly attended Harvard Law School, but preferred reading literature to studying law. James published his first short story, A Tragedy of Error, at age 21, and devoted himself to literature. In 1866–69 and 1871–72 he was a contributor to The Nation and Atlantic Monthly.
 * From an early age James read the classics of English, American, French and German literature, and Russian classics in translation. His first novel, Watch and Ward (1871), was written while travelling through Venice and Paris. After living in Paris, where he was contributor to the New York Tribune, James moved to England in 1876, living first in London and then in Rye, Sussex. During his first years in Europe James wrote novels that portrayed Americans living abroad. In 1905 James visited America for the first time in twenty-five years, and wrote "Jolly Corner".
 * Among James's masterpieces are Daisy Miller (1879); in which the eponymous protagonist, the young and innocent American Daisy Miller, finds her values in conflict with European sophistication; and The Portrait of a Lady (1881), in which a young American woman finds that her upbringing has ill prepared her against two scheming American expatriates during her travels in Europe. The Bostonians (1886) is set in the era of the rising feminist movement. What Maisie Knew (1897) depicts a pre-adolescent girl who must choose between her parents and a motherly old governess. In The Wings of the Dove (1902) an inheritance destroys the love of a young couple. James considered The Ambassadors (1903) his most "perfect" work of art. James's most famous novella is The Turn of the Screw, a ghost story in which the question of childhood corruption obsesses a governess. Although James is best known for his novels, his essays are now attracting a more general audience.
 * Between 1906 and 1910 James revised many of his tales and novels for the New York edition of his complete works. His autobiography, A Small Boy And Others, appeared in 1913 and was continued in Notes Of A Son And Brother (1914). The third volume, The Middle Years, appeared posthumously in 1917. The outbreak of World War I was a shock for James, and on 26 July 1915, he became a British citizen as a declaration of loyalty to his adopted country and in protest against America's refusal to enter the war. James suffered a stroke on 2 December 1915, and it soon became apparent that his prognosis was not good. The novelist, now seriously ill, was awarded the Order of Merit, bestowed on 1 January 1916.  His health continued to decline and he died in London on 28 February 1916. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium and his ashes are interred at Cambridge, Massachusetts.-- CaroleHenson   ( talk ) 06:25, 19 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Striking out the parts that are being moved back to the article.-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 03:43, 24 January 2014 (UTC)
 * Found the actual source for the first bulleted paragraph and there are close paraphrase/copy violation issues, particularly as the content was originally written (i.e., before my edits and info from another source): Harold Bloom. (1 January 2009) [2001]. Henry James. Infobase Publishing, originally published by Chelsea House. ISBN 978-1-4381-1601-3.-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 04:20, 24 January 2014 (UTC)