Italian Hours (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Henry James (Author), John Auchard (Contributor)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics | Publication Date: March 1, 1995

'The charm of certain vacant grassy spaces, in Italy, overfrowned by masses of brickwork that are honeycombed by the suns of centuries, is something that I hereby renounce once for all the attempt to express; but you may be sure that whenever I mention such a spot enchantment lurks in it' - Henry James. In these essays on travels in Italy written from 1872 to 1909, Henry James explores art and religion, political shifts and cultural revolutions, and the nature of travel itself. James' enthusiastic appreciation of the unparalleled aesthetic allure of Venice, the vitality of Rome, and the noisy, sensuous appeal of Naples is everywhere marked by pervasive regret for the disappearance of the past and by ambivalence concerning the transformation of nineteenth-century Europe.John Auchard's lively introduction and extensive notes illuminate the surprising differences between the historical, political, and artistic Italy of James' travels and the metaphoric Italy that became the setting of some of his best-known works of fiction. This edition includes an appendix of James' book reviews on Italian travel-writing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This annotated edition of Italian Hours offers us the precise differences between the world of Henry James saw in the Italy of his time and the one we see today. John Auchard's introduction and notes give the book a double function--the literary masterpiece is retained by acquires a practical function for the modern traveler. We learn, for example, where some of the paintings have been moved and what a century of wars has done to landscape and architecture. Above all, the eyes of the visiting American author and his prose voice turn the basic text into the poetry of travel, its visual and sensual delight, its mood, its atmosphere. --Leon Edel

Italian Hours is Henry James's most endearing travel book and one of the best of its kind by any American. His travel writing is a superb and integral part of his total output. John Auchard's editorial work on Italian Hours provide a significant contribution to the literature on James. Auchard is a wizard. His introduction is wise and skillful, informative, beautiful,, stylish, and fun. The notes are helpful, unobtrusive, and richly detailed. The photographs and bibliography should combine to make this edition the 'definitive' one for a century of devoted readers. --Robert L. Gale --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Henry James was born in 1843 in new York, with Scottish and Irish ancestry. Having studied in New York and Europe, he became a lawyer, and started writing in 1865. Spending time in Paris he knew Flaubert and Turgenev, before moving to London and then Sussex.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140435077
• ISBN-13: 978-0140435078
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,266 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

68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book with a view..., May 9, 2000

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Italian Hours (Hardcover)

The films 'Room With a View' and 'Wings of the Dove' make one wonder about the Italy reflected in classical paintings executed before the destruction of WWII. My curiousity was heightened in an art history class when the instructor showed a photo slide of the Ponte Vecchio and told the amazing story of the Nazi pilot who disobeyed orders to destroy the last bridge the allies could cross on their advance north.

This beautiful book brings to mind the saying, "The Past is a Foreign Country." Italy of the 19th Century is a place none of us can know except through records left by one who witnessed it. The book consists of essays James wrote on his travels to various places in Italy including Venice, Rome, and Florence. He visited some places several times and the text reflects the changes he observed on revisits.

He records an Italy whose poverty for a time prevented the intrusion of developers, who later made many changes perhaps for the worse. James was not a worshipper of old buildings, he appreciated them, but he was also aware of the suffering of the Italians, many of whom existed in dire poverty. His reflections on various cathedrals, churches and other objects of artistic interest are humanized by his comments about the individuals he encounters. He muses on the morality of travel, "whether it has been worthwhile to leave his home [and] encounter new forms of human suffering." His awareness of the Italians themselves makes his writing a bit like that of Paul Theroux, a travler and writer in our times. James differs from Theroux however. My sense is that James is a little less likely to criticize and a little more willing to overlook unpleasantness. Perhaps that makes him less of a realist, or perhaps Italy was a more pleasant place in the 19th Century.