Henry James – his greatest works
novels, stories, and novellas
Henry James writes in an elegant, leisurely style and he deals in the finer subtleties of moral life and human consciousness. He wrote relentlessly, copiously, and almost all of his work is first rate. His stories and novellas are just as good as his better-known novels; and he was also a major theorist of the novel and a perceptive critic. In his later work he begins to explore the interesting possibilities of ‘unreliable narrators’ – that is, people telling stories who may not know or reveal the whole truth.
It is interesting to note that for all James’ interest in the psychology of his characters and his avoidance of overt action as the mainsprings to his plots, many of his novels have been very successfully translated to the cinema screen. And more ironically still, for all the dramatic tensions which exist between his characters, his own attempts to write plays were regarded as a complete failure – by himself as well as by his critics.
If you have not read James before, you should begin with something shorter and written early in his career. His later prose style became increasingly mannered and baroque, as he explored the subtleties and moral complexities of social life in ever-increasing detail. Like fine wines, James is an acquired taste.
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Roderick Hudson (1876) was the first of James’s novels to be published in book form. It’s the story of a young man transplanted from a lawyer’s office in Massachusetts to a sculptor’s studio in Rome. Unable to make the adjustment between the new world and the old, he fails in both art and love, and meets a tragic end in Switzerland. This is one of many of James’s works which deals with tensions and differences between Europe and America.
Daisy Miller (1879) is a key story from James’s early phase in which a spirited young American woman travels to Europe with her wealthy but commonplace mother. Her innocence and her audacity offend social conventions and she seems to compromise her reputation. But when she later dies in Rome the reader is invited to see the outcome as a powerful sense of a great lost potential. A great study in understatement and symbolic power.
Washington Square (1880) is a superb early short novel – the tale of a young girl whose future happiness is being controlled by her strict authoritarian father. She has a handsome young suitor – but the father disapproves of him. There is a battle of wills – all conducted within the confines of their elegant town house. Who wins out in the end? You will be surprised by the outcome. This is a masterpiece of social commentary, with a sensitive picture of a woman’s life.
The Bostonians (1886) is a novel about the early feminist movement. The heroine Verena Tarrant is an ‘inspirational speaker’ who is taken under the wing of Olive Chancellor, a man-hating suffragette. Pulling her in the opposite direction is Basil Ransom, to whom she becomes attracted. The dramatic contest to possess her is played out with some witty and often rather sardonic touches, and as usual James keeps the reader guessing about the outcome until the very last page.
The Portrait of a Lady (1881) is regarded as the masterpiece of James’s middle period. Isabel Archer, a young American woman with looks, wit, and imagination, arrives to discover Europe. She sees the world as “a place of brightness, of free expression, of irresistible action”. Turning aside from suitors who offer her their wealth and devotion, she follows her own path. But that way leads to disillusionment and a future as constricted as “a dark narrow alley with a dead wall at the end”. James explores here one of his favourite themes – the Old World in contest with the New. In a conclusion that is one of the most moving in modern fiction, Isabel is forced to make her final choice. This edition provides a challenging new introduction and detailed notes; the text is that of the New York Edition and includes Henry James’s own Preface.
The Oxford World Classics are the best editions of James’s work. They are largely based on the most accurate versions of the texts; and they feature introductory essays, a biography, explanatory notes, textual variants, a bibliography of further reading, and in some cases missing or deleted chapters. They are also terrifically good value.
The Aspern Papers (1888) is a psychological drama set in Venice which centres on the tussle for control of a great writer’s correspondence. An elderly lady, ex-lover of the writer, seeks a husband for her daughter. But the potential purchaser of the papers is a dedicated bachelor. Money is also at stake – but of course not discussed overtly. There is a refined battle of wills between them. Who will win in the end? As usual, James keeps the reader guessing. The novella is a masterpiece of subtle narration, with an ironic twist in its outcome. This collection of stories also includes three of his accomplished long short stories – The Private Life, The Middle Years, and The Death of the Lion.
The Spoils of Poynton (1896) is a short novel which centres on the contents of a country house, and the question of who is the most desirable person to inherit it via marriage. The owner Mrs gereth is being forced to leave her home to make way for her son and his greedy and uncultured fiancee. She develops a subtle plan to take as many of the house’s priceless furnishings with her as possible. But things do not go exactly according to plan. There are some very witty social ironies, and a contest of wills which matches nouveau-riche greed against selfless high principles. There’s also a spectacular finale in which nobody wins out.
What Masie Knew (1897) A young girl is caught between parents who are in the middle of conflict, adultery, and divorce. Can she survive without becoming corrupted? It’s touch and go – and not made easier for the reader by the attentions of an older man who decides to ‘look after’ her. This comes from the beginning of James’s ‘Late Phase’, so be prepared for longer and longer sentences. In fact it’s said that whilst composing this novel, James switched from writing longhand to using dictation – and it shows if you look carefully enough – part way through the book.
The Turn of the Screw (1898) is a classic ghost story which has defied conclusive interpretation ever since it was first published. A governess in a remote country house is in charge of two children who appear to be haunted by former employees, who are now supposed to be dead. But are they? The story is drenched in complexities – including the central issue of the reliability of the person who is telling the tale. This can be seen as a subtle, self-conscious exploration of the traditional theme of the haunted house, filled with echoes of sexual and social unease. Or is it simply, “the most hopelessly evil story that we have ever read”? This collection of stories also includes James’s other ghostly tales – Sir Edmund Orme, Owen Wingrave, and The Friends of the Friends.
The Wings of the Dove (1902) This is one of the late, great masterpieces. Quite apart from the famous baroque prose style, it features many of James’s main themes. American innocence pitched against European cunning. The plot is a complex love triangle which strains at the limits of what is morally acceptable. Even for modern readers, the scheming and motivations will seem quite shocking. The heroine Kate Croy is in love with a man who hasn’t enough money to offer her a fashionable marriage. She thinks she can enhance her lover’s financial prospects by pushing him into the arms of a rich American heiress who is dying – but she doesn’t count on the unexpected results. The setting is a Venice that includes the usual correlatives of disease and death. And a social depth which is more-than-usually concerned with issues of money, social status, and class mobility. Be prepared for long and complex sentences which strain many readers’ patience.
In The Ambassadors (1903) Lambert Strether is sent from the US to Paris to recall Chadwick Newsome, a young man who is reported to be compromising himself by an entanglement with a wicked woman. However, Strether’s mission fails when he is seduced by the social pleasures of the European capital, and he takes Newsome’s side. So a second ambassador is dispatched in the form of the more determined Sarah Pocock. She delivers an ultimatum which is resisted by the two young men, but then an accident reveals unpleasant truths to Strether, who is faced by a test of loyalty between old Europe and the new USA. This edition presents the latest scholarship on James and includes an introduction, notes, selected criticism, a text summary and a chronology of James’s life and times.
The Golden Bowl (1904) is the climax of James’ late period. The writing is mannered, baroque, complex, and focused intently on the psychological relationships between his characters. There is very little ‘plot’ here in the conventional sense. The bowl in the title is a gift from one couple to another – but there’s a lot more to it than that of course. It will not be giving away too much of the story to say that it concerns an American heiress as she becomes aware of the secret affair between her new husband and her father’s young wife.
The Cambridge Companion to Henry James provides a critical introduction to James’ work. Throughout the major critical shifts of the past fifty years, and despite suspicions of the traditional high literary culture that was James’ milieu, as a writer he has retained a powerful hold on readers and critics alike. All essays are written at a level free from technical jargon, designed to promote accessibility to the study of James and his work.
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