Henry James: Novels 1901-1902: The Sacred Fount / The Wings of the Dove (Library of America) [Hardcover]

Henry James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2006

This volume brings together The Sacred Fount (1901), one of Henry James's most unusual experiments, and The Wings of the Dove (1902), one of his most beloved masterpieces and the novel that inaugurated the majestic and intricate "late phase" of his literary career.

Writing to his friend William Dean Howells, James characterized The Sacred Fount, the only one of his novels to be told in the first person, as "a fine flight into the high fantastic." While traveling to the country house of Newmarch for a weekend party, the nameless narrator becomes obsessed with the idea that a person may become younger or cleverer by tapping the "sacred fount" of another person. Convinced that Grace Brissenden has become younger by drawing upon her husband, Guy, the narrator seeks to discover the source of the newfound wit of Gilbert Long, previously "a fine piece of human furniture." His perplexing and ambiguous quest, and the varying reactions it provokes from the other guests, calls into question the imaginative inquiry central to James's art of the novel.

James described the essential idea of The Wings of the Dove as "a young person conscious of a great capacity for life, but early stricken and doomed, condemned to die under short respite, while also enamoured of the world." The heroine, a wealthy young American heiress, Milly Theale (inspired by James's beloved cousin Minny Temple), is slowly drawn into a trap set for her by the English adventuress Kate Croy and her lover, the journalist Morton Densher. The unexpected outcome of their mercenary scheme provides the resolution to a tragic story of love and betrayal, innocence and experience that has long been acknowledged as one of James's supreme achievements as a novelist. This volume prints the New York Edition text of The Wings of the Dove, and includes the illuminating preface James wrote for that edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

HENRY JAMES: NOVELS 1901-1902
Leo Bersani, editor

This fifth volume in the Library of America edition of the complete novels of Henry James brings together one of his most unusual works with one of his most beloved masterpieces. James characterized The Sacred Fount, the only one of his novels to be told in the first person, as "a fine flight into the high fantastic." Its nameless narrator becomes obsessed with the idea that a person may tap into the "sacred fount" of another person, and pursues his insight with a perplexing and ambiguous persistence. A tragic tale of innocence and experience that has long been acclaimed as one of James's supreme achievements as a novelist, The Wings of the Dove depicts the entanglement of the fatally ill Milly Theale, a wealthy young American heiress, with the English adventuress Kate Croy and her lover, the worldly journalist Morton Densher, in an intricate and ultimately devastating scheme of love and betrayal.

About the Author

Henry James (1843-1916), born in New York City, was the son of noted religious philosopher Henry James, Sr., and brother of eminent psychologist and philosopher William James. He spent his early life in America and studied in Geneva, London and Paris during his adolescence to gain the worldly experience so prized by his father. He lived in Newport, went briefly to Harvard Law School, and in 1864 began to contribute both criticism and tales to magazines.

In 1869, and then in 1872-74, he paid visits to Europe and began his first novel, Roderick Hudson. Late in 1875 he settled in Paris, where he met Turgenev, Flaubert, and Zola, and wrote The American (1877). In December 1876 he moved to London, where two years later he achieved international fame with Daisy Miller. Other famous works include Washington Square (1880), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Princess Casamassima (1886), The Aspern Papers (1888), The Turn of the Screw (1898), and three large novels of the new century, The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903) and The Golden Bowl (1904). In 1905 he revisited the United States and wrote The American Scene (1907).

During his career he also wrote many works of criticism and travel. Although old and ailing, he threw himself into war work in 1914, and in 1915, a few months before his death, he became a British subject. In 1916 King George V conferred the Order of Merit on him. He died in London in February 1916.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 736 pages
• Publisher: Library of America; First edition (February 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193108288X
• ISBN-13: 978-1931082884
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #925,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Henry James (1843-1916), the son of the religious philosopher Henry James Sr. and brother of the psychologist and philosopher William James, published many important novels including Daisy Miller, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, and The Ambassadors.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Edition In Itself, June 30, 2006

By 

Bibliophile "Jay" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Henry James: Novels 1901-1902: The Sacred Fount / The Wings of the Dove (Library of America) (Hardcover)

The three stars are aimed at the edition, rather than the work itself (The Master is never less than a 4 [although, I prefer his middle period to his later period].)

The edition falls short in the in inclusion of The Sacred Fount. Any edition which includes The Wings of the Dove should necessarily include The Ambassadors, and The Golden Bowl. These works are the core of his late oeuvre, and should be presented together. The Sacred Fount is interesting, but just that and nothing more. Obviously, the LOA had their mind on their money and their money on their mind when they produced this volume, thus doing a disservice to James lovers by not allowing them to have the Big Three in one package.

As far as the usage of the New York Edition, I'm absolutely fine with that decision: It's the last version touched by James and obviously the one he wanted to leave to his readers. It's his last word on his art, and we should respect that. If you want to track his artisitic development, buy a less expensive volume of the early version.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The combination of two of the greatest stories from during the turn of the nineteenth century, April 4, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Henry James: Novels 1901-1902: The Sacred Fount / The Wings of the Dove (Library of America) (Hardcover)

Henry James: Novels 1901-1902: The Sacred Fount & The Wings Of The Dove by Henry James, now released in current edition edited by Leo Bersani, is the combination of two of the greatest stories from during the turn of the nineteenth century. Composed of The Sacred Fount, the only of Henry James' stories to have been told in the first person perspective, and The Wings Of The Dove, as one of the greatest stories told by Henry James, Henry James: Novels 1901-1902 is an esteemed collection of two very great landmarkers in literary history. An important addition to either academic or public library system, Henry James: Novels 1901-1902 is very strongly recommended to all students of literature as well as collectors of Henry James greatest and most known works.