The Reception of Henry James in Europe

Henry James, the American-born writer who chose to live in Europe, settled in London and Rye, becoming a British subject in 1915. He occupies a major position as a dedicated artist and cultural historian who combined the strengths of American, English and French nineteenth-century literary traditions with the aesthetic innovations that paved the way for modern and postmodern fiction. The rare subtlety and intensity of his writings can be fully appreciated only through the responses of perceptive readers beyond the English-speaking world. This collection of essays, prepared by an international team of scholars and translators, examines the ways in which James was translated, published and reviewed on the Continent of Europe, notably in France, Italy and Germany, but also in most of the languages of Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe. Some specific contributions are devoted to the strikingly original cinematic and operatic adaptations of Henry James’s works.