Written by Henry James
Georgina's Reasons
by Henry JamesHenry James's 1884 tale “Georgina's Reasons” presents readers with an insoluble hermeneutic problem regarding its heroine's motivation. This essay applies four interpretative frameworks — theological, political, scientific and geographical — to the question of the heroine's “reasons”. Each way of interpreting the story aligns with a genre of ninete..
Sir Dominick Ferrand
by Henry JamesLevity is not a word often applied to Henry James, but this story has about it an attractively lighthearted quality. It tells of Peter Baron, a poor, young struggling writer of adequate, if not transcendent, talent, who lives in a dreary London boarding house inhabited also by a mysteriously clairvoyant and beautiful young widow, with her small boy..
The Diary of a Man of Fifty
by Henry JamesHenry James' short story The Diary of a Man of Fifty is a moving and thought-provoking meditation on aging and coming to terms with one's past. The narrator pays a return visit to Italy, where he spent some time many years before, and revisits memories of an ultimately doomed love affair, some painful and some enriching...
Eugene Pickering
by Henry JamesEugene Pickering is a short story by Henry James. Most of the spectators were too attentive to the play to have many thoughts for each other; but before long I noticed a lady who evidently had an eye for her neighbours as well as for the table. She was seated about half-way between my friend and me, and I presently observed that she was ..
Louisa Pallant
by Henry JamesLouisa Pallant by Henry James is a 1879 classic, novel about an American traveling to Europe with his prosperous nephew and encounters an old love, Louisa. ExcerptsI scarce know how long I had sat when I became aware of a recognition which made my meditations definite. It was on my own part, and the object of it was a lady who moved to and fro, unc..
The Path Of Duty
by Henry JamesThe Path of Duty first appeared in magazine form in The English Illustrated Magazine in December 1884, which had been established the year previously by Macmillan to create a publication with high production values and illustrations appealing to the artistic market. The story was later reprinted in a three volume collection of James’s stories in 18..
The Pension Beaurepas
by Henry JamesThe Pension Beaurepas is a novel by Henry James. Two American families are staying at the Pension Beaurepas in Geneva - the young narrator observes them, as does M. Pigeonneau, an older Frenchman. The novella contrasts their characters and their different ways of "being American." Despite the vaunted "freedom" of American society, several of t..
The Point of View
by Henry JamesHenry James was one of the leaders in the school of realism in fiction. He is known for his series of novels in which he portrayed the encounter of America with Europe. James is considered to be the master of the novel and novella. James wrote about personal relationships and the power within these relationships. James explored consciousness and pe..