Henry James

The Spoils of Poynton is a novel by Henry James, first published under the title The Old Things as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly in 1896 and then as a book in 1897. This novel traces the shifting relations among three human beings and a magnificent collection of art, decorative arts, and furniture arrayed like jewels in a country house called Poynton. Mrs. Gereth, a widow of impeccable taste and iron will, formed the collection over decades only...

This early work by Henry James was originally published in 1914 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. Henry James was born in New York City in 1843. One of thirteen children, James had an unorthodox early education, switching between schools, private tutors and private reading.. James published his first story, 'A Tragedy of Error', in the Continental Monthly in 1864, when he was twenty years old. In 1876, he emigrated...

The Sacred Fount is a novel by Henry James, first published in 1901. This strange, often baffling book concerns an unnamed narrator who attempts to discover the truth about the love lives of his fellow guests at a weekend party in the English countryside. He spurns the "detective and keyhole" methods as ignoble, and instead tries to decipher these relationships purely from the behavior and appearance of each guest. He expends huge resources of energy...

This engrossing volume of literary criticism from Henry James, one of the world's foremost critics, looks at the work of the Goncourt brothers, James Russell Lowell, Henrik Ibsen, Robert Browning, and Gustave Flaubert, among others. It also includes a piece of travel writing about London.

Partial Portraits examines the work of a range of authors, such as Emerson, Eliot, Trollope, and Stevenson. It includes one of James's most famous essays, The Art of Fiction, in which he argues that writers should not be limited in their subject matter, and that the only obligation a writer has is to make the work interesting.

The Bostonians is a novel by Henry James. This bittersweet tragicomedy centres on an odd triangle of characters: Basil Ransom, a political conservative from Mississippi; Olive Chancellor, Ransom's cousin and a Boston feminist; and Verena Tarrant, a pretty, young protégée of Olive's in the feminist movement. The storyline concerns the struggle between Ransom and Olive for Verena's allegiance and affection, though the novel also includes a wide panorama...

Those whose palates are accustomed to the subtle flavours of the wines of the Rhine and Moselle can smack their lips and name the vintage at the first taste. Likewise any one fairly familiar with the work of Mr. James during his forty years of literary activity can, after the reading of a single page taken at random, judge with a remarkable accuracy the date of its composition. Yet the transition has not been abrupt and the styles of writing which...

Prolific author Henry James explored elements of gothic fiction with his 1898 ghost story novella, The Turning of the Screw, included in this volume. The novella has been popular since its publication. Many critics have debated about the "evil" mentioned in throughout the text. Some argue that the confusion associated with the plot is what makes this gothic work so great.

This essay, written by American writer Henry James, examines the letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, specifically those he wrote in response to readers who expressed great interest in his works.

Henry James was the most recognizable author in this literary experiment. Proposed by William Dean Howells and edited by Elizabeth Jordan, the book was to contain twelve chapters, each written by a different author. With each writer competing for creative control, the novel is an interesting footnote in period literature.