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Introduction

Henry James

Now considered one of the world’s greatest novelists, Henry James desperately wanted to be a successful playwright. He spent several different periods of his life writing plays, but none of them garnered the success that his novels and short stories did. In fact, on the opening night of one of his early plays, James was greeted with hisses and boos when he bowed at the end of the performance. Traumatized by this reception, he eventually gave up writing for the theater and turned his unfinished plays into novels. As a result, his novels often follow a theatrical structure. He is now best known for The Portrait of a Lady, The Wings of the Dove, and the novellas Daisy Miller and The Turn of the Screw.

Essential Facts

1. Though American by birth, James renounced his heritage and became a naturalized citizen of Great Britain during World War I in protest over the fact that the U.S. would not enter the war. Ironically, the U.S. did join the war shortly after James’s death.
2. James was a self-proclaimed bachelor, but there is speculation among some critics that he was a closeted homosexual.
3. Critics often divide James’s writing into three phases. His early work was simple and direct as much Victorian writing of the time was. In his second phase, he wrote more short stories and dramatic literature. In his third incarnation, he wrote long, serialized novels.
4. James wrote a great deal of nonfiction, including the essay “The Art of Fiction” and a book-length study of the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
5. Many of James’s novels have been made into films. The Wings of the Dove, Washington Square, and The Portrait of a Lady are particularly popular adaptations.