Selected Short Stories of Henry James

Henry James (15 April 1843 - 28 February 1916) was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary reaslism. James spent the last 53 years of his life in England, becoming a British subject in 1915, one year before his death. He is primarily known for the series of novels in which he portrays the encounter of Americans with Europe and Europeans. His method of writing from the point of view of a character within a tale allows him to explore issues related to consciousness and perception, and his style in later works has been compared to impressionist painting. James is one of the major figures of trans-Atlantic literature. His works frequently juxtapose characters from the Old World (Europe), embodying a feudal civilisation that is beautiful, often corrupt, and alluring, and from the New World (United States), where people are often brash, open, and assertive and embody the virtues, freedom and a more highly evolved moral character of the new American society. James explores this clash of personalities and cultures, in stories of personal relationships in which power is exercised well or badly.