Delicate Pursuit: Discretion in Henry James and Edith Wharton

Delicate Pursuit explores the way in which Henry James and Edith Wharton treated subject matter that was considered controversial by American publishers at the turn of the century. In their treatment of risque topics, James and Wharton pursued ‘discretion’, the key concept of this study, in order to avoid censorship. Discretion marks not only the author’s relationship to their subject matter but also the behaviour of the characters in the fiction. This study takes into particular account the influence of the French literary tradition on these two authors. At the crossroads of the new freedom of expression opened up by French realism and the persisting puritanical standards of their American audiences, James and Wharton sought safe ways to address adult sexuality, and the ‘French’ theme of adulterous love in particular.