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(0)Henry James
1) Daisy Miller
Henry James, the nineteenth-century American writer who was lauded for his skill with insightful, elegantly styled prose, was fascinated by the differences between Americans and their European counterparts. This theme was a feature of many of his works, including the novella The Europeans. In this text, James takes a comic approach to highlighting the stark contrasts between the two cultures.
In this beautifully wrought novel from master of American fiction Henry James, a talented young sculptor is taken under the wing of a rich and powerful patron who attempts to help foster the full emergence of the sculptor's creative prowess by setting him up in grand style in Italy. However, plans rarely go off as conceived, and before long, the sculptor Roderick finds himself unable to work and in love with the wrong woman.
What is the true function of the artist in society? Do fame and acclaim help or hinder the artist's pursuit of creative expression? These are the timeless questions underpinning this classic novel from American literary legend Henry James. The story follows the parallel career trajectories of two artists: Nick Dormer, who is trying to juggle both a political career and his love of painting, and Miriam Rooth, an ambitious young actress who will
...Young Londoners Kate and Merton are engaged, but have no money to marry on. When the wealthy but terminally ill American heiress Milly arrives in London, Kate schemes for a way to inherit her fortune. But when Kate achieves all she had hoped for, she finds that the money and the gentle, beautiful Milly have changed everything.
After her parents’ bitter divorce, young Maisie Farange finds herself shuttled between her selfish mother and vain father, who value her only as a means for provoking each other. Maisie—solitary, observant, and wise beyond her years—is drawn into an increasingly entangled adult world of intrigue and sexual betrayal...
In this tale from the master of subtle psychological insight, American writer Henry James, the narrator tells a story about a pair of star-crossed lovers who never find a way to make their ill-fated relationship work — and who punish everyone around them by constantly harping on the failed romance.
American author Henry James is regarded as one of the foremost figures in the genre that some critics call "trans-Atlantic" literature. His fiction often explores the tension between traditional European values and the brash, assertive national character of America. This epistolary novella captures the impressions of American visitors in Europe in a series of letters.
12) The Coxon Fund
Tortured artist and brilliant conversationalist Frank Saltram has made a splash among the fashionable set in Wimbledon, and all of the society matrons are vying for his favor and lining up to offer their guest rooms to him. But is this self-styled philosopher all that he pretends to be?
Like many of Henry James' short stories, The Figure in the Carpet revolves around an artist whose body of work hides a deeper meaning and several other characters who bear the heavy burden of a momentous secret. When a group of friends unlocks the true significance of a misunderstood novelist's oeuvre, the weight of this knowledge bears unforeseen—and terrible—consequences.
14) The Jolly Corner
This finely crafted novella from fiction master Henry James combines several themes from James' body of work: the clash of cultures between Europe and America, an uncanny encounter with a doppelganger, and a pervasive sense of unease and ambiguity. After living abroad for decades, American Spencer Brydon returns to his native New York to take care of some business dealings, but he soon succumbs to an obsessive preoccupation with his past life.
Regarded as one of Henry James' finest works, the short story The Beast in the Jungle centers around protagonist John Marcher and his seemingly bizarre phobia—a pervasive sense of doom that prevents him from living his life to the fullest and precludes the possibility of him ever finding true love. This fascinating read highlights the psychological complexity that has earned James' fiction so much critical acclaim.
16) The Awkward Age
Adolescence and the transition to adulthood are difficult periods for most people, but the stakes are even higher when you're a well-born young woman at the center of a complex and morally suspect social circle. That's the dilemma facing young Nanda Brookenham in Henry James' The Awkward Age, a dialogue-driven novel that some critics rank among the writer's most accomplished literary feats.
17) The Real Thing
This perfectly wrought little tale of a painter struggling with his muse brings together a number of the most important themes that renowned American writer Henry James returned to again and again in his work—the difficulty of artistic expression, the meaning of truth, and conflict between socioeconomic classes.
18) The Outcry
Henry James' final novel, The Outcry is a light comedy that will come as a pleasant surprise to readers who associate the author's name with the dense, philosophically inclined fiction of his middle period. Originally written for the stage, the story focuses on one British family's attempt to get out of debt by selling a treasure trove of historically significant artworks to foreign collectors.
19) Hawthorne
Though Henry James is best remembered as a titan of nineteenth-century American literature and an important innovator in the domain of literary realism, he was also a key figure in the literary criticism of the period and helped to shape the era's critical sensibility. In this fascinating volume, James focuses his critical lens on Nathaniel Hawthorne, his creative forebear, who many regard as one of James' only true literary equals in the American
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