The Portable Henry James (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Henry James (Author), John Auchard (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2003 | Series: Penguin Classics

Henry James wrote with an imperial elegance of style, whether his subjects were American innocents or European sophisticates, incandescent women or their vigorous suitors. His omniscient eye took in the surfaces of cities, the nuances of speech, dress, and manner, and, above all, the microscopic interactions, hesitancies, betrayals, and self-betrayals that are the true substance of relationships. The entirely new Portable Henry James provides an unparalleled range of this great body of work: seven major tales, including Daisy Miller, The Turn of the Screw, "The Beast in the Jungle," and "The Jolly Corner"; a sampling of revisions James made to some of his most famous work; travel writing; literary criticism; correspondences; autobiography; descriptions of the major novels; and parodies by famous contemporaries, including T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Virginia Woolf, and Graham Greene.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry James (1843-1916) was born in New York City and entered the law school at Harvard in 1862. He moved to London in 1875 and became a British citizen in 1915. He wrote some twenty novels, many short stories, and a staggering number of letters. John Auchard is professor of English at the University of Maryland, and he edited the Penguin Classics edition of James's Italian Hours.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics; Revised edition (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142437670
• ISBN-13: 978-0142437674
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,900 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

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Master at His Finest, August 7, 2009

By 

W. H. Pugmire "I never can be tied to raw, ne... (Sesqua Valley) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Portable Henry James (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

It has been suggested that Henry James did not "realize" Life -- that he hid from it and missed so much of that which makes life vital. I would rather have lived his life than most others of which I have read or observed. My own life has been one of wildness, bohemian behavior and eccentric passion -- but I have very little to show for having "lived" life to the fullest. Now that I am two years away from sixty, I look at all of my madcap ways and see how lifeless they truly are. We may compare the biography of Henry James to that of another favorite writer, Oscar Wilde. Who, I ask, "lived" the greater life, had the finest experience of existence?

Henry James is said to be merely an observer and interpreter of life and society. I find him so much more. He is one of the few writers whose works take on new life as age advances and maturity allows me to appreciate in more adult fashion the genius of Art. The creation of art is, for me, one of the finest expressions of the human soul -- and no one wrote with more intense interest, curiosity and intelligence than Henry James.

This newer edition of THE PORTABLE HENRY JAMES, superbly edited and introduced by John Auchard, gives us some of James's finest accomplishments as an artist. The book is divided into different categories: I. FICTION; II. REVISIONS; III. TRAVEL; IV. CRITICISM; V. AUTOBIOGRAPHY; VI. CORRESPONDENCE; VII. DEFINITION AND DESCRIPTION; VIII. NAMES; IX. PARODY; X. LEGACY. The final section is a fascinating record of approaches to Henry James from his admirers, and includes
"At the Grave of Henry James," a substantial poem by W. H. Auden,
a selection from HENRY JAMES: AN APPRECIATION by Joseph Conrad,
from IN MEMORY by T. S. Eliot,
from HENRY JAMES: THE PRIVATE UNIVERSE by Graham Greene,
from HENRY JAMES by Ezra Pound,
from A BACKWARD GLANCE by Edith Wharton,
and from REVIEW OF THE LETTERS OF HENRY JAMES by Virginia Woolf.

As an introduction to James, this omnibus cannot be beat. One would have wished, perhaps, for a few more short stories, but all in all it is a fine representation.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best introduction yet to Henry James, January 29, 2006

By 

Cosimato (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Portable Henry James (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

This collection gives an excellent overview of James' work and offers the reader a chance to engage a notoriously daunting author at many levels. There are the stories, the essays, the letters, and of course select novels. This is the best place to start.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the beginner., January 16, 2010

By 

Bruce Oksol "oksol" (San Antonio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Portable Henry James (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

I have never enjoyed a writer so much as Henry James. But I could not have enjoyed him without first Shakespeare, Homer, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Hemingway, the Brontes, George Eliot and so many more. I put off reading Henry James because I had heard he was so long-winder, so boring.

Without a doubt, I am convinced that "The Beast in the Jungle" is his best, it is his most autobiographical, it is so sad, and perhaps the best romance (as in "romance") writing I have ever come across.

Life experiences help immensely in one's reading, and this is particularly true for "The Beast in the Jungle."

The "Turn of the Screw" is a great ghost story, but at the end of the day, it is simply a ghost story.

Carrying the "Portable Henry James" on your flights will guarantee you will mind less the missed flights, the delayed flights and the canceled flights.