Discover anew the life and influence of Henry James, part of the
acclaimed Wiley Blackwell Critical Biographies series. In The Life
of Henry James: A Critical Biography, Peter Collister, an
established critic and authority on Henry James, offers an original
and fully documented account of one of America’s finest writers,
who was both a creative practitioner and theorist of the novel. In
this volume, James’s life in all its personal and cultural
richness is examined alongside a detailed scrutiny of his fiction,
essays, biographies, autobiographies, travel writing, plays and
reviews. Â James was a dedicated and brilliant letter-writer
and his biographer make judicious use of this material, some of it
previously unpublished, evoking in the novelist’s own words the
society within which he moved and worked. His gift for friendship,
often resulting in close relationships with both men and women, are
sensitively explored. Near the beginning of his long and highly
productive life, James left America to immerse himself in European
culture and history – a necessity, he felt, for the developing
artist. In an ironic symmetry he witnessed in his youth the effects
of the American Civil War and in his last days, finally becoming a
British citizen, despaired at the unfolding tragedy of the Great
War in Europe. Sustained, nevertheless, by his own creative energy,
he never ceased to believe in the capacity of the arts to enhance
and give significance to life.    Â
Provides well-informed accounts of Henry James’s youth in New
York City, his unconventional education, his extensive travel in
Europe, his eventual assimilation into British society, his
development as a writer and his personal relationships as a single
man. Features discussions of James’s major works in a
variety of genres from an assured theoretical and historical
perspective. Assesses James’s developing quest for dramatic form
in his fiction – the ‘scenic art’ – as well as his critical
writing which was to have a lasting influence on the literature and
aesthetic values of the twentieth century. Discusses his achieved
aspiration to be ‘just literary’, to become what he called that
‘queer monster’, an artist. Charts James’s lifelong interest
in art and theatre. An incisive discussion of the life of an author
of major stature, The Life of Henry James: A Critical Biography
offers a refreshingly lucid and human account of a novelist and his
often challenging, but rewarding, writing. Peter Collister,
a former college Assistant Principal, has published many essays in
Europe and America on a range of nineteenth-century British and
French authors. He is the author of Writing the Self: Henry James
and America and later edited for the university presses of
Cambridge and Virginia the award-winning volumes: The Complete
Writings of Henry James on Art and Drama, James's autobiographical
writings, A Small Boy and Others, Notes of a Son and Brother, and
The Middle Years, as well as The American Scene.Â
General
Imprint: |
Wiley-Blackwell
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Wiley Blackwell Critical Biographies |
Release date: |
May 2023 |
Authors: |
Peter Collister
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 26mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
480 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-119-48307-6 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-119-48307-7 |
Barcode: |
9781119483076 |
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