The American Essays of Henry James

by Henry James, Leon Edel (Editor)

"No one, among American writers, was more contemporary or had a more powerful grasp of American history and American myth," writes Leon Edel of Henry James. This collection of James's essays on American letters, together with some of his miscellaneous writings on other American subjects, is a pivotal document in the reassessment of James as less cloistered--and more American--than previously supposed. James is relaxed and informal as he writes of Emerson, Hawthorne, Lowell, Godkin, Norton, and he is fondly recalling--but also criticizing--the cultural orthodoxy in which he was reared. The American Essays remarkably prefigures current efforts to revise and challenge the aesthetic idealism of the Emersonian tradition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Essays

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Henry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."

Reviews

[Christopher (Donut) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been so long since I read this, that it's due for a re-read.

Much easier to get into than The American Scene. The heart of the book is the series of "American Letters" which James wrote in 1898 for a British weekly Literature.

I will update this review as I refresh my memory.

[Jeffrey Rasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christopher Newman, a super wealthy American, goes to Paris to get cultured and find an aristocratic bride. He thinks he's found the right woman and is in love with her. His love is not compelling, because he decided he loved her before they met. Her family is very snobbish, and doesn't think an American "tradesman" is a proper match for Claire. But they decide they'll take the money. But then, they change their minds and reject Newman. No good reason is given for the reversal, nor is it believable that Claire lacked the agency to make a decision herself.
There is an interesting mystery, which compensates to some extent for the logical failures of the plot. But the ending is disappointing and unsatisfying.
James was a wonderful stylist from the beginning. His plotting improved in his later works, e.g., Portrait of a Lady.