Henry James
1843-1916

Henry James is an author we've rediscovered, as of late. His work is rich and full; he painted pictures of the beginnings of what was to be American life, in a somewhat sarcastic light, brimming with the sentiments that made him, finally, abandon America altogether, and become fully European. But in writing about the folly of what came to be dubbed the Gilded Age, he shows what America became even into current day.

In his work there is no "glory of the common man pulling himself up by the bootstraps and scratching out a living in the American dust" as so many later authors reveled in; his subject was the common neuve riche that intrigued him, the New Yorkites and their society from whence he sprang, and at whom, ultimately, James pokes fun. The clash of cultures between the wanna-be American elite and the old Europeans obsessed him, and became his personal calling card. These portraits are what James was and remains famous for, influencing later authors such as Edith Wharton and no doubt setting the stage of the later nearly-mythic view of their environs which continue, in one form or another, into much of modern literature.

But no one, attempt such themes comes close to the master himself, the inimitable Henry James. Read on, and enjoy.

new! Off-site link Notes on life in the Gilded Age

Weirdly, however, it doesn't mention the literary figures of the age. But an interesting overview, nonetheless...

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