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Classic Authors: Henry James

© Susan Jensen

Henry James was born on April 15, 1843, in New York, New York. He was named after his father, Henry James, Sr., who earned some recognition as a social theorist and lecturer. A family inheritance allowed the James Family a life of leisure, and they traveled abroad while Henry and his siblings were still infants. The James children received their early education from tutors and governesses while traveling in Europe and while at home in Manhattan. Unlike his active older brother, Henry developed into a shy child who escaped into books. He preferred observation to participation, and spent his time reading anything that became available to him.

As a teenager, Henry spent several years traveling in Europe with his family. As a result of living in cities like Geneva, Paris and London, the James children acquired efficient language skills as well as a wider world view. In 1860, they settled in Newport, Rhode Island, where Henry became immersed in New England culture.

Henry began studying at Harvard Law School in 1862. He remained only a year, as he found recreational reading much more enticing than his law lessons. In the next few years, he devoted himself to his writing, never returning to formal education.

In the mid-1860s, Henry published his first short story, “A Tragedy of Errors,” in the New York Continental Monthly. His first book reviews appeared in North American Review. When William Dean Howells became the editor of The Atlantic Monthly,” Henry and he became good friends. Howells eagerly published Henry’s work. By the time he hit his mid-20s, Henry James was well-known as a skilled short story writer.

After an 1869 trip to Europe, Henry decided that he could live more cheaply and write better abroad. He left in 1875 and settled in Paris, where he wrote articles for the New York Tribune and worked on The American(1877). While in the city, he met other writers such as Gustave Flaubert, Guy de Maupassant and Alphonse Daudet. In 1876, Henry headed for London, where he wrote Daisy Miller(1878) and The Europeans(1878). He also consorted with Robert Browning, Lord Tennyson, Robert Louis Stevenson, and others. He became a social animal, dining out and attending numerous functions.

Henry James published his masterpiece, The Portrait of a Lady, in 1881. He followed the novel with Washington Square(1881), The Bostonians(1886), and The Princess Casamassima(1886). During the next decade, he turned his pen to writing for the stage. His original play, Guy Dornville(1895), failed so miserably that Henry was booed by the audience. He then concentrated on adapting his novels to the stage. The result was a new style of writing, one which provided more drama and suspense. He began using the technique in The Spoils of Poynton(1897), What Maisie Knew(1897), The Turn of the Screw(1898), and In the Cage(1898).