The Henry James Reader

Considered the foremost 20th-century authority on the life and works of Henry James, Leon Edel has selected works that demonstrates James' profound understanding of the psychology of human relations and his ironic view of life. James' 45-year writing career spanned the era of professionalization, and James pursued authorship with unsurpassed professionalism. Devoted to writing, he published a voluminous collection of novels, novellas, stories, plays, travel narratives, autobiographies, biographies, and literary criticism, and produced more than ten thousand letters. His readership in the 20th century was full of fellow writers, among them James Baldwin, Dashiell Hammett, Toni Morrison, and Philip Roth, who all declared his work indispensable to their own, confirms that James introduced something new and lasting into the literary canon.