HenryJames:TheMajorNovels

JudithWoolf'selegantlywrittenbookintroducesschoolanduniversitystudents,aswellastheinterestedgeneralreader,tothemajornovelsofHenryJames(1843–1916),theAmericanwriterwhobecameagreatEuropeannovelistanddiedanaturalisedEnglishman.TheprincipalnovelsinwhichJamesexploredhiscentraltheme,thebetrayalofinnocence,arediscussedinalucidwaywhichoffersfreshintrepretationsandcommunicatestothenon-specialistreadertheexcitementratherthanthedifficultyofreadingJames.Difficultyisnonethelessoftenafeatureofhiswork,andJudithWoolfdoesnotshunimportantquestions.SheplaceshiminthecontextofthehistoryoftheEnglishnovel(Fielding,Richardson,Dickens,andGeorgeEliot),focusingontraditionsoftragicandcomicvisionandonthesubtletiesofexpressionandperspectiveenabledbythenarrativeform.ThebookincludesashortaccountofJames'slife,alistofhisworksandtheirdates,andaselectedguidetofurthercriticism.