Memorable Quotations: Henry James

Born in New York City, Henry James (1843–1916) was an American novelist and the brother of William James. He settled in London in 1876 and became a British citizen in 1915. In his initial novels, such as Daisy Miller (1879) and The Portrait of a Lady (1881), he likened the refined culture of Europeans with the naïve quality of Americans. In his next phase, James dealt with revolutionaries, as in The Bostonians (1886) and The Princess Casamassima (1886). He also wrote several formidable short novels, such as The Aspern Papers (1888) and The Turn of the Screw (1898). He returned to the international theme in his last novels, The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903), and The Golden Bowl (1904), generally considered his masterpieces. He was also a first-rate short-story writer and a distinguished critic. Considered one of the great masters of the novel, James is especially noted for his portrayals of the subtleties of character and for his complex style.