Wordsworth Classics: Washington Square

Henry James (1843-1916) was an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, critic and essayist. He travelled extensively in Europe and became a British subject in 1915. He took the American experience of Europe as the theme of his first important works, his masterpiece of this period being The Portrait of a Lady.

He followed this with novels using an American setting, short stories, essays, travel writing, and significant critical studies. He also turned his attention to drama and then in 1898 made his most famous venture into the uncanny with The Turn of the Screw.

He returned to America in 1904. His influence in the history of the novel is unquestioned; he was a pioneer of psychological realism and master of a rich, highly complex prose style and an extremely sensitive apprehension of values of character.