Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

Henry James was famous for his dexterous, somewhat long-winded phrases, both in his writings and in ‘real life.’ A famous anecdote survives which describes how James goes about asking directions from a passer-by while motoring through England with his good friend, Edith Wharton: ‘”My friend, to put it to you in two words, this lady and I have just arrived here from Slough; that is to say, to be more strictly accurate, we have recently passed through Slough on our way here, having actually motored to Windsor from Rye, which was our point of departure; and the darkness having overtaken us, we should be much obliged if you would tell us where we now are in relation, say, to the High Street, which, as you of course know, leads to the Castle, after leaving on the left hand the turn down to the railway station.” I was not surprised to have this extraordinary appeal met by silence, and a dazed expression on the old wrinkled face at the window; nor to have James go on: “In short” (his invariable prelude to a fresh series of explanatory ramifications), “in short, my good man, what I want to put to you in a word is this: supposing we have already (as I have reason to think we have) driven past the turn down to the railway station (which, in that case, by the way, would probably not have been on our left hand, but on our right), where are we now in relation to…” “Oh, please,” I interrupted, feeling myself utterly unable to sit through another parenthesis, “do ask him where the King’s Road is.” “Ah–? The King’s Road? Just so! Quite right! Can you, as a matter of fact, my good man, tell us where, in relation to our present position, the King’s Road exactly is?” “Ye’re in it,” said the aged face at the window.’

Novels
Watch and Ward (1871)
Roderick Hudson (1875)
The American (1877)
The Europeans (1878)
Confidence (1879)
Washington Square (1880)
The Portrait of a Lady (1881)
The Bostonians (1886)
The Princess Casamassima (1886)
The Reverberator (1888)
The Tragic Muse (1890)
The Other House (1896)
The Spoils of Poynton (1897)
What Maisie Knew (1897)
The Awkward Age (1899)
The Sacred Fount (1901)
The Wings of the Dove (1902)
The Ambassadors (1903)
The Golden Bowl (1904)
The Whole Family (collaborative novel with eleven other authors, 1908)
The Outcry (1911)
The Ivory Tower (unfinished, published posthumously 1917)
The Sense of the Past (unfinished, published posthumously 1917)

James also wrote over 100 Short Stories, Novellas and plays.

Are you interested in reading any of this American author, who was born in the States but lived in England and came back to the States to return to England? works? Do you think this author's world travels might have inspired his tales?

You've convinced me Lesle - I'm going for The Turn of the Screw and Other Ghost Stories.

I'll be reading Washington Square.

I love that anecdote!

I'll be reading Washington Square also, Rosemarie.

I think I'll try In the Cage. I read The Portrait of a Lady earlier in the year and enjoyed it.

Annette wrote: "I think I'll try In the Cage..."

Looks like an interesting read Annette. The first time I have read the synopsis for this one!

Annette wrote: "I think I'll try In the Cage. I read The Portrait of a Lady earlier in the year and enjoyed it."

I’ll try this too - thank you for the suggestion, Annette.

I am a few chapters into Washington Square. I purchased it a long time ago after hearing it was an inspiration for The Heiress (1949 film with Olivia de Havilland). This is my first Henry James work.

Glad to have you with us Marie.

I am thinking about this one as well. I did not know about The Heiress that is interesting and will have to follow up with the film after the read.

Please let us know about your thoughts on this one!

Great list! I got the Library of America edition of James's complete tales a few years ago, and those are pretty amazing too. Jumping from one volume to another you can experience, in a condensed way, how much his style evolved.

PatC it is very interesting seeing how an Author evolves in their writing style as the mature as a writer.

Nice point to bring up.

I finished Washington Square. I thought Catherine eventually held up admirably in the face of the people who were trying to influence her (view spoiler)[Dr. Sloper, Morris Townsend and her Aunt Lavinia. (hide spoiler)] Catherine grew in maturity throughout the story. This was an enjoyable book.

I have just finished Washington Square. I agree with you, Kathy. It was an enjoyable book. That aunt was something else-what a character.

Quite a friend:

Henry James’s close and long-standing friendship with Constance Fenimore Woolson, a widely-read writer who like James had also settled in Europe, ended abruptly when Woolson jumped from her bedroom window in Venice in 1894. It fell to James to sort through her belongings and finally dispose of her clothing. Unable to sell or burn her dresses, he eventually got into his gondola and was rowed to the deepest part of the Venetian lagoon. Here, he laid the dresses into the water and tried to make them sink, but ‘the dresses refused to drown,’ writes Lyndall Gordon in his fanciful interpretation of this moment of James’ life which still speaks to the imagination of his biographers. ‘One by one they rose to the surface, their busts and sleeves swelling like black balloons. Purposefully, the gentleman pushed them under, but silent, reproachful, they rose before his eyes.’

I just finished In the Cage. It seems simply a story about a young working woman but there is more than one cage. Recommended :)

Annette did you purchase the book or do Kindle? Sounds like a good one to read.

Lesle, I read In the Cage on hoopla through my local library.

Lesle wrote: "Annette did you purchase the book or do Kindle? Sounds like a good one to read."

Lesle, I haven’t read it yet but I got a free Kindle version from AmazonUK, so there may be one available in the US too.

Trisha wrote: "Lesle, I haven’t read it yet but I got a free Kindle version from AmazonUK, so there may be one avail..."

Oh! Thanks Trisha, I will look into that at lunch time.
I would also like to read Washington Square I have that one. Kathy and Rosemarie seemed to really enjoy it. My book is quite large (height and width wise) so not easy to carry around to work for lunch reads.

Just finished The Turn of the Screw and Other Ghost Stories. Not exactly "normal" ghost stories, but beautifully written as you would expect.