Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.