Henry James: Novels 1896-1899: The Other House / The Spoils of Poynton / What Maisie Knew / The Awkward Age (Library of America) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Myra Jehlen (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This fourth volume in the Library of America edition of the complete novels of Henry James contains the four novels he wrote after a failed attempt to forge a career as a playwright on the London stage. Together they mark the beginning of the brilliant period in the novelist's career known as the late phase.

The Other House (1896) shows James incorporating an act of murder into the heart of his narrative. Long neglected, the novel is a fascinating glimpse into a very different side of Henry James, as he explores the violent implications of jealousy and possessiveness. In The Spoils of Poynton (1897), the artworks conserved in the manor house of the title become the object of a protracted power struggle between the mother and the fiancée of the heir to the house. The struggle, in this most tightly constructed of James's late novels, hinges ultimately on the sensitivities of a third woman.

What Maisie Knew (1897) recounts the aftermath of a divorce through the eyes of the couple's daughter. James adopts what he described as "the consciousness, the dim, sweet, scared, wondering, clinging perception of the child." Similarly experimental, The Awkward Age (1899) maps the interrelations of a large cast of characters, a group of old friends and their children, almost entirely through dialogue. The ambiguity of childhood innocence is central to both of these novels.

About the Author

Myra Jehlen, editor, is Board of Governers Chair of Literatures at Rutgers University. She is the author of American Incarnation: The Individual, the Nation, and the Continent (1986), in the first volume of the Cambridge Literary History of the United States, and Readings at the Edge of Literature (2002).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1035 pages
• Publisher: Library of America (March 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931082308
• ISBN-13: 978-1931082303
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #504,814 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #82 in

  Books > Literature & Fiction > British > Classics > James, Henry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intended for an extended shelf life, April 8, 2003

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

Compiled and edited by Myra Jehlen (Board of Governors Chair of Literatures at Rutgers University), Henry James: Novels 1896-1899 is the fourth volume in The Library of America edition of the complete novels of Henry James and contains the four novels written after James failed in his attempt to create a professional career as a playwright on the London stage. The novels include "The Other House" (1896); "The Spoils of Poynton" (1897); "What Maise Knew" (1897); and "The Awkward Age" (1899). Like all more than 150 titles published by The Library of America, Henry James: Novels 1896-1899 is printed on high quality paper, intended for an extended shelf life, and is a mandatory addition to University and College library collections.