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Overview
This brilliant, faultless, impeccably constructed work will maintain its status as an outstanding research tool invaluable both to undergraduate students and to scholars of James. It is unquestionably worthy of 'The Master,' its subject. Choice
Called a Shakespeare of the novel and America's only fully realized literary artist by Leon Edel, his prize-winning biographer, Henry James was also one of the most prolific American writers. His massive literary output included approximately 300 critical essays, 134 novels and stories, 15 plays, and some 15,000 letters. A Henry James Encyclopedia offers both the interested reader and committed scholar a wealth of information about James and his work never before available in one volume. More than 3,000 entries summarize each of James's works, describe every fictional and dramatic character in them, identify writers and artists James reviewed, discuss each important man and woman he associated with or wrote to, and define members of his extended family.
The extensive encyclopedia section is preceded by a chronology that details important events in James's life. The encyclopedia itself is arranged alphabetically in one continuous set of entries, making it extremely easy to find specific information. Cross references are indicated by asterisks. In addition, twelve appendices list James's works, contacts, and characters by type (Plays, Friends of James, Actors, Actresses, Theater Managers, Composers, and Singers Mentioned by James, and so on). A bibliography completes the volume. The only book of its kind ever produced for an American writer, A Henry James Encyclopedia will be an indispensable source for Jamesian scholars as well as for students just beginning their study of his work. As such, it is an important acquisition for every American literature collection.
Synopsis
"This brilliant, faultless, impeccably constructed work will maintain its status as an outstanding research tool invaluable both to undergraduate students and to scholars of James. It is unquestionably worthy of `The Master,' its subject." Choice
Library Journal
Though Gale concedes that in this book he has ``drawn heavily'' on his 1965 Plots and Characters in the Fiction of Henry James , there is certainly enough that is new to justify its publication. Without critical evaluation, Gale describes every one of James's works, characters, friends, and relatives. He also appends 12 listings of Jamesiana as well as an eight-page bibliography. Gale has long been a respected James scholar, and this massive volume, despite its price, belongs in every library where scholarly study of the novel in English is important. It is quite accessible, however, and would also be an appropiate choice for any library in which users are likely to need ready reference information on James.-- Peter Dollard, Alma Coll. Lib., Mich.