The Art of the Novel

This collection of prefaces, originally written for the 1909 multivolume "New York" Edition of Henry James' fiction, first appeared in book form in 1934 with an introduction by poet and critic R. P. Blackmur. In his prefaces, James tackles the great problems of fiction writing - character, plot, point of view, inspiration - and explains how he came to write novels such as "The Portrait of a Lady" and "The American". As Blackmur puts it, "criticism has never been more ambitious, nor more useful." The latest edition of this influential work includes a foreword by best-selling author Colm Toibin, whose critically acclaimed novel "The Master" is told from the point of view of Henry James. As a guide not only to James' inspiration and execution but also to his frustrations and triumphs, this volume will be valuable both to students of James' fiction and to aspiring writers.

ISBN 0226392058   DEWEY edition DC22 ISBN13 9780226392059 (What's this?)   Pages 400 Publisher The University of Chicago Press   Weight (grammes) 508 Imprint University of Chicago Press   Published in Chicago, IL Format Paperback   Height (mm) 216 Publication date 05 Jul 2011   Width (mm) 140 Writer of foreword Colm Toibin   Spine width (mm) 22 Writer of introduction R. P. Blackmur   Academic level Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Professional / Scholarly DEWEY 813.4

"Taken as a whole, this collection of James's prefaces constitutes the most profound manual of the art of fiction in the language." (Nation) "In this volume all the prefaces which Henry James wrote for the New York edition of his works have been brought under one cover. The result makes an indispensable item for every student or lover of Henry James and for all students of the novel, which James himself thought 'the most independent, most elastic, most prodigious of literary forms.'" (Commonweal) "As the story of a story, each preface has its dramatic interest, and those who have not read the stories in the light of each preface have missed half the enjoyment to be got from them." (Times Literary Supplement) "The prefaces James wrote for the New York edition open vast areas of light for discussion, areas which are central to how we work: how we choose what to narrate, for example; how we plot and plan in making art as a gift to our readers; how we make scenes and drama that matter; and the many other details on building foundations which will hold the rooms and corridors of the house of fiction." (Colm Toibin, from the new Foreword)"

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