The grasping imagination : the American writings of Henry James / Peter Buitenhuis.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. The Civil War and Harvard's Tented Field -- 2. Literary Influences -- All the Breezes of the West -- 3. The Hawthorne Aspect -- 4. Transatlantic Trials -- 5. A Certain Form. Watch and Ward -- 6. Experiment and Decision The Attempt to Be an American Artist -- 7. Comic Pastoral. The Europeans -- 8. American Episodes and The Portrait of a Lady -- 9. Points of View -- 10. Evasive Boston and Threadbare Internationalism -- 11. A Very American Tale The Bostonians -- 12. English Years and American Letters -- 13. The Restless Analyst of the American Scene -- 14. Undiscovered America -- 15. In the Finer Grain -- 16. The Fresh Start and the Broken Link. The Ivory Tower -- 17. The Obstinate Finality -- Bibliographical Note -- Abbreviations and Short Titles -- Notes -- Index -- Backmatter

There has been almost no study of the American writings of Henry James, that is, the fiction, essays, and travel literature with an American setting. The great bulk of Jamesian criticism deals with the international novels, particularly his late works. This study places James's career in a new perspective by discussing its American aspect. It gives the critic an opportunity to come to grips with the evolution of James's technique from his second short story to his penultimate, unfinished novel, The Ivory Tower.

eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide