The Critical Reception of Henry James
Creating a Master
Linda Simon
Although some of Henry James's contemporary critics deemed him just short of a great writer, history has elevated him to indisputable preeminence in the American canon. Linda Simon chronicles and analyzes James criticism beginning with contemporary newspaper and magazine reviews and ending with current academic criticism. The story begins in the 1870s, when critics saw James's works as mirrors of American identity and sought to establish him in the nation's evolving canon. James himself worked to secure that place with his prefaces to the standard edition of his works; Simon analyzes criticism about those prefaces. She also shows how James's reputation became contested after his death: praised by some critics for psychological insight and stylistic innovation, he was dismissed by others as socially and politically irrelevant. But beginning in the 1940s, such critics as Trilling, Rahv, Leavis, and, most influentially, Leon Edel secured James's place at the forefront of the American canon. More recently, James scholarship has focused on sexuality and gender, race and morality, and the nature of consciousness; critical trends Simon also considers. This book, the only comprehensive overview of James criticism over the past 140 years, helps readers understand the paths that that criticism has taken and how scholars and critics have built upon past work.
Linda Simon is Professor of English at Skidmore College and Editor-in-Chief of William James Studies. Her books include Genuine Reality: A Life of William James, which was a New York Times Notable Book of 1998.
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DETAILS
200 pages
Size: 9 x 6 in
13 digit ISBN: 9781571133199
Binding: Hardback
First published: 01/Nov/2007
Last printed: 01/Nov/2007
Price: 75.00 USD / 40.00 GBP
Imprint: Camden House
Series: Literary Criticism in Perspective
Subject: English & American Literature
BIC class: AVH
STATUS: Available
Details updated on 01/12/2008
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Contents
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Introduction
| 1 | |
A Mirror for Americans: Contemporary Criticism, 1866-1916
| 2 | |
Instructions to the Reader: James's Prefaces to the New York Edition
| 3 | |
The Cult of Henry James, 1918-1960
| 4 | |
A Life of the Master: Leon Edel's Henry James and its Influence on Criticism
| 5 | |
Critical Revisions: James in the Academy
| 6 | |
Jamesian Consciousness: Mind, Morality, and the Problem of Truth
| 7 | |
Gender, Sexuality, Intimacy
| 8 | |
Selected Henry James Bibliography
| 9 | |
Works Consulted
| 10 | |
Index
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Reviews
This lucid, absorbing study offers thorough coverage of criticism of James's works... This volume not only covers all James criticism but also outlines a pattern of changing perspectives in the field of literary criticism itself. CHOICE
Lucidly, generously and entrancingly, Prof. Simon tells the story of a century and a half of dizzying struggles among Henry James himself and his critics to construct and demolish rival images of the Master. The tales she tells make a history in miniature of the wars over American identity -- national, intellectual and sexual. The historical Henry James emerges mysteriously smiling from the conflicting accounts, like a character in one of his own novels. Bravo! -- Sheldon M. Novick, Adjunct Professor of Law and History, Vermont Law School, author of Henry James: The Mature Master
Simon's book ... is unique, for it is the only work that gives an overview of all of James criticism .... It is also completely up to date. It enables readers to "get a handle" on the huge corpus that is James criticism.... Understanding the various paths that work on James has followed over the years, perceiving where these paths have branched off in different directions, identifying those that have not been followed through to their ultimate conclusions -- these are the most difficult aspects of doing scholarly work on an author about whom so much has been written. Thanks to Simon's book, James scholars and students will be able to see clearly where the uncharted territory lies, and as a result, it represents a significant and lasting contribution. -- Pierre A. Walker, Salem State College
One of the achievements of Simon's book is her ability to identify points of continuity among generations of James's readers.... The fourth chapter, on [James's biographer Leon] Edel, is the structural heart of the book and the most compelling part of it to read. Simon gives a fascinating account of Edel's efforts, over more than two decades, to control studies of James's biography.... The other chapters ... supply critical summaries that convey a number of important insights....Seeing the key critical trends [in the "major scholarly industry" of James studies] is no small feat, and Simon has done well to chart a current road map to this critical archive. NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
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