Henry James Biography

Dictionary of Literary Biography on Henry James

Henry James was a highly self-conscious author with a systematic interest in the techniques of novel writing--an interest that culminated in the landmark prefaces to the New York Edition of his own works. Remarkable for his cosmopolitan perspective, he could be snobbish in his reviews of American writers, ignoring many of the authors championed by his friend William Dean Howells. But like Howells he urged his readers to appreciate foreign literature, writing witty, urbane essays that served as an antidote to his country's provincialism. Another of James's assets was his flexibility. To some extent he can be classified with Howells as a realist who mediated between the extremes of romanticism, with its emphasis on pure spirituality, and naturalism, with its focus on impersonal, deterministic forces. Increasingly, however, James insisted on the author's freedom to express his subjective vision, whether or not it coincided with commonly held views of "reality." James was therefore less dogmatic than Howells, and his freedom from "a priori restrictions" has enhanced his reputation among modern theorists.

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