A stunning biography of the magisterial author behind The Portrait of a Lady and The Ambassadors
Henry James is an absorbing portrait of one of the most complex and influential nineteenth-century American writers. Fred Kaplan examines James’s brilliant and troubled family—from his brother, a famous psychologist, to his sister, who fought with mental illness—and charts its influence on the development of the artist and his work. The biography includes a fascinating account of James’s life as an American expatriate in Europe, and his friendships with Edith Wharton and Joseph Conrad. Compressing a wealth of research into one engrossing and richly detailed volume, Henry James is a compelling exploration of its subject.
<p>Fred Kaplan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of <em>Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer</em>, which was named a Best Book of the Year by the <em>New York Times</em> and <em>Washington Post</em>, among other publications. His biography of Thomas Carlyle was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Maine.</p>