The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1883-1884 - (Hardcover)

About the Book

This thirteenth installment in the complete collection of Henry James's more than ten thousand letters records James's work on his mid-career novels The Bostonians and The Princess Casamassima as well as work on a number of tales that would help to define his career.

Book Synopsis

This volume of The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1883-1884 includes 125 letters, of which 72 are published for the first time, written from January 29, 1884, to November 9, 1884. The letters mark Henry James's confidence and achievements as an internationally important professional writer, including his participation in conceiving and carrying out with editors and publishers complicated plans to distribute his work and maximize his income. James details his work on mid-career novels The Bostonians and The Princess Casamassima as well as work on a number of tales that would help to define his career. This volume concludes with James's anticipation of the arrival in England from the United States of his sister, Alice, who would never again return to her homeland.

Review Quotes

"Reading these edited letters is a delight. The transcriptions allow one to read fluidly rather than haltingly, preserving the rhythm and tone of the original communications together with their content. The explanatory notes do a superb job of contextualizing the letters and identifying references and allusions within them. I could not help but admire the astonishing discernment and scholarship manifested in this volume."--Sarah Wadsworth, professor of English at Marquette University
-- (2/23/2019 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Henry James (1843-1916) was an American author and literary critic. He wrote some two dozen novels, including Portrait of a Ladyand The Golden Bowl, and left behind more than ten thousand letters.
Michael Anesko is a professor of English and American studies at Pennsylvania State University. He is a general editor of The Cambridge Edition of the Complete Fiction of Henry James and the author, most recently, of Generous Mistakes: Incidents of Error in Henry James.
Greg W. Zacharias is a professor of English and the director of the Center for Henry James Studies at Creighton University. He is the editor of A Companion to Henry James, the coeditor of Tracing Henry James, and the editor of the Henry James Review.
Katie Sommer has been an associate editor of the Complete Letters of Henry James series since 2007 and has worked on the Henry James letters project since 2001.