The Art of the Novel - by Henry James (Paperback)

About the Book

"This collection of prefaces, originally written for the 1909 multi-volume New York edition of Henry James's fiction, first appeared in book form in 1934 with an introduction by poet and critic R.P. Blackmur. In his prefaces, James tackles the great problems of fiction writing--character, plot, point of view, inspiration--and explains how he came to write novels such as The Portrait of a Lady and The American"--Back cover.

Book Synopsis

This collection of prefaces, originally written for the 1909 multi-volume New York Edition of Henry James's fiction, first appeared in book form in 1934 with an introduction by poet and critic R. P. Blackmur. In his prefaces, James tackles the great problems of fiction writing-character, plot, point of view, inspiration-and explains how he came to write novels such as The Portrait of a Lady and The American. As Blackmur puts it, "criticism has never been more ambitious, nor more useful."

The latest edition of this influential work includes a foreword by bestselling author Colm Tóibín, whose critically acclaimed novel The Master is told from the point of view of Henry James. As a guide not only to James's inspiration and execution, but also to his frustrations and triumphs, this volume will be valuable both to students of James's fiction and to aspiring writers.

Review Quotes

"As the story of a story, each preface has its dramatic interest, and those who have not read the stories in the light of each preface have missed half the enjoyment to be got from them."

-- "Times Literary Supplement"

"In this volume all the Prefaces which Henry James wrote for the New York edition of his works have been brought under one cover. The result makes an indispensable item for every student or lover of Henry James and for all students of the novel, which James himself thought 'the most independent, most elastic, most prodigious of literary forms.'"

-- "Commonweal"

"Taken as a whole, this collection of James's prefaces constitutes the most profound manual of the art of fiction in the language."

-- "Nation"

"This is the chief importance of James's prefaces: that they have made future novelists conscious; that the planned effect has been substituted for the lucky stroke. . . . But to the common reader they should have an almost equal value, for our enjoyment of a novel is increased when we can follow the method of the writer."--Graham Greene "Spectator"

About the Author

Henry James (1843-1916) is among the most widely read and taught writers of nineteenth-century literary realism. Among his best known works of fiction are The Portrait of a Lady, Washington Square, The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors, The Aspern Papers, and The Turn of the Screw.