A Ring Of Conspirators: Henry James And His Literary Circle, 1895-1915

Author:   Miranda Seymour
Publisher:   Simon & Schuster
Edition:   New edition
ISBN:  

9780743232203


Pages:   336
Publication Date:   04 October 2004
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Our Price $25.85 Quantity:  
Add to Cart

Share |

A Ring Of Conspirators: Henry James And His Literary Circle, 1895-1915


Add your own review!

Overview

Henry James left London in 1897 to spend the last two decades of his life in East Sussex where his neighbours included H. G. Wells, Stephen Crane, Ford Madox Ford, Joseph Conrad. In this widely admired study Miranda Seymour aims to cut through 'the mass of evasions ...and misrepresentations' about their relationships with James. She finds that James was cruelly patronizing to protege Wells and to Conrad; that he was annoyed by Ford, an incorrigible romancer; that he envied his rich friend Edith Wharton for her wide readership; that he snubbed Cora Taylor, Crane's lover, after she fled America when her railway-conductor husband was found guilty of murder. Seymour, a descendant of James's close friend, the novelist Howard Sturgis, records how James's critiques of fellow writers often amounted to annihilation and she chronicles his infatuations with handsome young men, including sculptor Hendrik Andersen and poet Rupert Brooke. In this erudite and insightful book that draws on letters and published works, Miranda Seymour vividly recreates the uneasy alliance of writers and personalities in this 'Rye Mafia'.

Full Product Details

Author:   Miranda Seymour
Publisher:   Simon & Schuster
Imprint:   Simon & Schuster
Edition:   New edition
Weight:   0.249kg
ISBN:  

9780743232203


ISBN 10:   0743232208
Pages:   336
Publication Date:   04 October 2004
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Reviews

Born in New England, Henry James spent the last decades of his life in Old England, specifically in Rye and London, and finally became a British subject. Comfortably settled in Lamb House, enjoying its rural and seaside amenities, he mingled with fellow writers including Ford Madox Ford, H. G. Wells, Stephen Crane, and Joseph Conrad. By examining the relationships amongst this group, as expressed in their social behaviour and their writing, Seymour is able to articulate with some degree of clarity what mattered to Henry James. She also discusses the warm affection between Henry and his psychologist brother, William. The interest of this book occurs in the details of character and setting. Literary quarrels and personal rivalries abound. The lives of the male writers - with the exception of James himself - were brightened by a range of Edwardian ladies, from the 'Angel in the House', as Virginia Woolf scornfully described the ideal stay-at-home wife, to the neurotic 'lady novelist' (George Eliot's term) exemplified by Violet Hunt. Because the book mainly confines itself to his life at Rye, the issue of James's relationship with women when younger is not addressed in any detail. For the last 20 years of his life, it is clear that he had homo-erotic, though not homosexual, attachments. Originally published in 1988, this paperback hasn't been re-written. Its approach to biography is therefore one which cheerfully seeks to recreate a historical reality, rather than one which questions the possibility of ever achieving it. For Seymour, James is a gentleman, and a writer of intelligence and subtlety. The comparison with his contemporaries supports this view. (Kirkus UK)


Author Information

Miranda Seymour is the acclaimed author of the innovative and widely admired A RING OF CONSPIRATORS, a study of Henry James and his circle, and OTTOLINE MORRELL: LIFE ON THE GRAND SCALE, twelve times selected for Book of the Year. She also writes novels and children's books.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions
Latest Reading Guide

ls

Shopping Cart
Your cart is empty
Shopping cart
Mailing List