Reading Henry James

"Henry James has been championed as an historian of social conscience and attacked as a spokesman for social privilege. His Americanness has been questioned by nativists and defended by Brahmins. An acknowledged master in his final years, James' narrow readership has dwindled in the century since his death. This book examines allusions, sources and affinities in James' vast body of work to interpret his literary intentions. Chapters provide close analysis of Daisy Miller, The American, The Beast in the Jungle and The Wings of the Dove."--