Henry James

This new study of Henry James draws on novels and short stories from throughout his career. Jeremy Tambling discusses James' importance as a theorist of the novel and argues for his importance as an American. He sees all James' work as a complex engagement with America and an attempt to find something in textual form that has been missed in the actual experience of America, in comparison with what he has imagined he has found in Europe.

Tambling (comparative literature, U. of Hong Kong) draws on novels and short stories from throughout James' (1843-1916) career to discuss his importance as a theorist of the novel, and to argue for his importance as an American, rather than equally or even more of a European, as many contend. He finds that James has different ways of creating an extra space in which something uncanny, something haunted, in 19th-century American history can be located. He hopes to clarify the later work, which many find too difficult to read. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Jeremy Tambling is Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature, University of Hong Kong.