Reading the 20th Century discussion

With some trepidation (!), I'm going to ask if there are any other Henry James fans in the group? I say that since he has a reputation of being 'difficult' - and certainly his last novels (The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl) are very dense and require decoding as much as reading.

But he does also write lighter fare, especially from earlier in his career, and can be wickedly funny - such as in The Bostonians.

He just about makes it into our period and is also important for developing literary modernism. Fans of Edith Wharton and maybe Elizabeth Bowen may well find an affinity with James.

So, Elizabeth (Alaska) and I are planning to read one of his novellas, possibly Madame de Mauves (1874), and possibly in August (details to be confirmed). It's only about 75-80 pages, and is available in a free Kindle edition if anyone fancies trying James at no cost.

Do let us know if you're interested in joining this buddy read, and this thread is open for general Jamesian chat.

Wikipedia has a rather decent description of Madame de Mauves with:

Madame de Mauves is a novella by Henry James, originally published in The Galaxy magazine in 1874. The story centers on the troubled marriage of a scrupulous American wife and a far from scrupulous French husband, and is told mostly from the point of view of a male friend of the wife. The tale reflects the intense interest James took in the "international theme," especially early in his career. One of the longest fictions he had yet attempted, the smoothly narrated story shows that James was rapidly maturing in style and technique.

RC is much up on me with James, but he has other shorter fiction that might tempt someone. For fall, his The Turn of the Screw, a ghost story, could be a favorite.

Thanks for that description, Elizabeth, which I forgot - duh!

We're looking at starting discussions of Madame de Mauves on August 22 so there's some space between the buddy reads - everyone welcome as always!

I have read a couple of his books and give them usually three, but sometimes four stars. I recently picked up The Aspen Papers to get back to him again. It has been a long time since I read him.

The Turn of the Screw, which Elizabeth recommended, I like a lot.

I have read The Turn of the Screw some years ago, but nothing else. I shouldn't. I have too many books to read... Oh well, it's short. I;m sure I can fit it in.

Chrissie wrote: "I have read a couple of his books and give them usually three, but sometimes four stars. I recently picked up The Aspen Papers to get back to him again. It has been a long time sinc..."

I loved The Aspern Papers, Chrissie.

I have read The Turn of the Screw and seen the play but have not read anything else by James. As it is short I am willing to try Madame de Mauves for August

Susan wrote: "I have read The Turn of the Screw some years ago, but nothing else. I shouldn't. I have too many books to read... Oh well, it's short. I;m sure I can fit it in."

Yay, so glad we've enticed you, Susan! Elizabeth's idea of a novella is a good way of reading some James without overburdening ourselves. I'm looking forward to it very much.

I'm excited to also have Jill and Susan.

I have no willpower! Just downloaded it :)

Excellent, Jill. I haven't read Madame de Mauves so it's nice that we'll all be coming to it fresh.

I'll volunteer that it hasn't exactly been on my must read list. RC has been talking about James in other threads and she lured me in for another dip. I can't get to one of the longer ones before winter. I was impatient!

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "I have read a couple of his books and give them usually three, but sometimes four stars. I recently picked up The Aspen Papers to get back to him again. It has been..."

I have it on my phone. What do you think I will think? Don't give me the details, but how does it stand out for you?

I liked the subtle intrigue of The Aspern Papers, nothing gets overblown. Hard to predict what you (or anyone else) will think, Chrissie - books are such subjective things!

Well I somehow missed all this discussion, but I quite fancy a James novella so count me in!

Excellent, Pamela, delighted you'll be joining us!

Chrissie wrote: "What do you think I will think? Don't give me the details, but how does it stand out for you?
"

Sometimes what you think about a book surprises me, so I won't make a prediction. For me? It was 5-stars.

Pamela wrote: "Well I somehow missed all this discussion, but I quite fancy a James novella so count me in!"

Yay! I'm so glad there is more interest.

I also like James so will probably join in. I haven't read this one but have enjoyed some of his other novellas, such as these two Daisy Miller and Washington Square, as well as Aspern Papers and The Turn of the Screw.

I'm bumping this thread as we've started a conversation about Henry James following Sam's nomination of his The Ambassadors in our poll.

Some of us might be interested in buddy reading some James in 2026 - if you're keen, this is the space to register your interest. We can think about what and when later.

I'm definitely interested in this. I think of myself as a James fan, however I had a very difficult time with The Wings of the Dove, so am a little afraid of his later work. And I agree with what Sam said in the other thread, that his shorter work is very powerful, and The Real Thing is certainly thought-provoking.

My favorites of his are probably Washington Square and The Aspern Papers, but I did also love the longer The Portrait of a Lady.

I'd definitely be up for buddy reading some James in '26. I love his prose, especially in the earlier and middle books, which are mostly what I've (tried to) read.

I've always appreciated the links between James and some of my favorite books--especially The House of Mirth and Mapp and Lucia.

Excellent, looks like there's sufficient interest here for some James next year.

Would people like to put forward nominations of what to read? And how often?

I'm thinking four books, so one a quarter, and I like the idea of including short stories or novellas. But feel free to propose something different.

An interesting novel might be The Bostonians as it's the funniest James I've read, not a quality we usually think of with him.

I read a few of HJ novels and many of his short stories from his pre-late period. He revised most them to adjust to his late style and they are now mostly published in these revised versions. It's regrettable because they are much more accessible and masterfully written in the original.

I wholeheartedly agree with Vesna's comment from the other thread. I much prefer the original version of novels like The Portrait of a Lady too. James's later revisions for, what was supposed to be the definitive New York edition, don't work for me - and didn't work for him either, they were supposed to bring in additional cash for his later years but, iirc, didn't sell at all well.

The Bostonians would be a good choice, I also favour Washington Square, it's short, powerful and - as James considered it slight -was never revised so no issues over which editions people have access to.

I will be joining as well. I'd like to nominate The Ambassadors that Sam proposed for this Sept. (I switched my vote after learning that we would read James next year). It was his own favorite and perhaps a gentler transition to his last 3 novels in the late (and more challenging) style.

I didn't mind The Ambassadors, didn't love it. But I read it in tandem with Cynthia Ozick's reversioning Foreign Bodies which slowed things down quite a bit - and possibly altered my perspective. Also love The Turn of the Screw and Other Ghost Stories various short stories, The Aspern Papers, The Spoils of Poynton.

Alwynne wrote: "Also love The Turn of the Screw and Other Ghost Stories various short stories, The Aspern Papers, The Spoils of Poynton."

I also loved The Aspern Papers, which was serendipitously my first HJ read, and The Spoils of Poynton. My favorite so far is The Portrait of a Lady (in its original version/text).

Great ideas, keep them coming!

I hadn't realized there is such a difference between editions. I don't know which I've read, as I'm an Oxford or Penguin reader. I naively thought that there were things James couldn't say in the first editions that he was freer to elucidate in the later, but sounds like that's not necessarily true.

I love the idea of reading the original versions if I can find them. Here's an article discussing the Library of America's decision to use the versions as originally published.

It would also be interesting to discuss the differences in our threads, if we read different editions.

https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/74...

Interesting article from Gorra - thanks. I've read his Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece and while much of it is standard biography, I appreciated his detailed comparison of the edition, of which this article is a taster.

I went to rummage on my bookcase: I have the original 1881 Portrait of a Lady, probably because it's a Penguin I bought at about 16. My The Golden Bowl is the later New York edition. The new Oxfords like Daisy Miller and an International Episode and The Aspern Papers and Other Stories use the New York editions too. My The Wings of the Dove has literally fallen apart so I need to get another copy.

If modern paperback editions are from New York, it might be hard to find the originals unless through second hand.

Not that that's a problem - as Ben says, it would be interesting to trace the amendments and rewritings.

I plan to pick up the Library of America editions. If they're less expensive in the US I'll buy them there, as I'm there twice a year (next time in October). If anyone wants a copy, I'm happy to pick them up for you at cost + shipping (which is free if I can hand them to you in London)

I won't re-buy books I already own but depending on what we decide to read, may take you up on that, Ben. I'll check the university libraries first. It looks like Library of America is the place to get the shirt stories that were originally published in magazines.

*short stories* - though no doubt HJ had plenty to say about shirts too! 😂

So much upon which I would like to comment.

There is much out there on the early editions compared to the revised New York editions and good arguments for both sides. Here is the Wiki link that gives some information on what changed in the New York edition and some of the critics who prefer one edition or the other:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yor...

Here is an article by Michael Gorra, author of Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece on his thoughts from LOA:

https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/74...

My feeling is I prefer to read the original for the rawness of the writer writing at the moment of composition. Then, I like to read revisions from a more mature writer, and because there is never enough time for it all, I do the best I can.

Ideally, I would want to own the Cambridge editions (which textually are based on revised New York editions I think)
but they are out of my pocketbook range though I might splurge for digital access to one, depending on my mood. Some of you in the UK might have access from your professional connections.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/series...

and here is a look inside:

https://portraitofalady.la.psu.edu/

Sorry to have reposted Ben's link. The heat makes me read posta and register only half of what I am reading.

Alwynne wrote: "The Bostonians would be a good choice, I also favour Washington Square, it's short, powerful and - as James considered it slight -was never revised so no issues over which editions people have access to."

I could never understand why he left out Washington Square from his NY edition, but, as you say, it makes finding it in the original version much easier. :-) He also didn't revise The Bostonians - I haven't read it and look forward to it if it ends up on our 2026 HJ reading list.

I hope to get at least one book I haven't read from our deeper dive, BUT rereading James is usually a better experience than reading him for the first time.
I also support reading Washington Square. I think it is one of his most accessible novels at first read, it is short, and it is brilliant, plus it kind complements the theme of feminism in The Bostonians by having a very strong female character. For film buffs there is William Wyler's "The Heiress," which is brilliant adaptation despite taking liberties with the material.

The Bostonians is also a good choice for its topicality and humor.

I love the film "The Heiress." Haunting!

I'm up for just about any James. The ones at the top of my list are Daisy Miller, What Maisie Knew and a re-read of The Spoils of Poynton.

Sam wrote: "I hope to get at least one book I haven't read from our deeper dive, BUT rereading James is usually a better experience than reading him for the first time.
I also support reading Washington Squar..."

I love that film, Montgomery Clift is brilliant.

Kathleen wrote: "I love the film "The Heiress." Haunting!


What Maisie knew is definitely one of my favourites. I tried to reread The Golden Bowl but found it even more demanding the second time, not sure why. The only one I've tried and disliked is The Europeans thought it was really dull. But James meant it as a sketch rather than a fully-realised piece so maybe that's what I was reacting to.

Ben wrote: "I plan to pick up the Library of America editions. If they're less expensive in the US I'll buy them there, as I'm there twice a year (next time in October). If anyone wants a copy, I'm happy to pi..."

I'm tempted too, my copy of the original version of Portrait of a Lady is a battered old Penguin from my teens/uni days, so far haven't managed to track down a replacement for it. And, like Vesna, it's one of my all-time favourites.

Thanks everyone. What I propose is that we do four Henry James reads in 2026-7: we'll start after Ben has finished with Proust - maybe March 2026? (No rush, Ben - we can be flexible).

I think one should be The Ambassadors which started this conversation but as it has the rep of being one of the late books, I'll suggest we tackle it as the last book, if everyone agrees.

So, for our first book, looking at the posts above Washington Square has been mentioned a few times - shall we start there?

As for the two middle books, why don't we leave them open for the moment and see what we feel like closer to the time? One or more of the short stories might be good, Turn of the Screw might fit around Halloween time and is prime for discussion about different interpretations - or we might fancy something completely different.

Nothing is fixed so feel free to propose an alternative or if you really don't fancy Washington Square.

I think Washington Square an excellent place to start. It could lead to a great discussion as well with lots of points to be addressed and debated.

I agree with Sam and I'd be happy to re-read Washington Square.

RC, I think The Ambassadors would be a great choice to finish our year with HJ.

Leaving two middle period choices open for now also sounds reasonable as there are so many to select from.

P.S. Just in case there is an interest to go bimonthly instead of quarterly, judging from the comments here The Bostonians could also be an excellent additional choice for his earlier period.

Yes please. I can reread Washington Square and want to read The Bostonians. I am hoping this year to read What Maise Knew for a bingo card at another GR group.

I'll leave RC to comment on this.

Great, Cynda.

I'll suggest the following schedule for 2026, and we can firm up plans along the way:

Washington Square - March 2026
Not fixed - June 2026
Not fixed - September 2026
The Ambassadors - December 2026

I'll wait a bit before setting up the first thread as some people want to finish their reading of Proust ahead of James so we'll stay a bit flexible for the moment.

Thank you. I'm looking forward to this Buddy Read.

What Ben said!

Thank you Roman Clodia