Embarrassments

by Henry James

Overview

The almost autoerotic parable, The Figure in the Carpet (1896) concerns the "secret" surrounding the published works of Hugh Vereker, which his friends, the narrator and another critic, seek in vain to unravel. The rival critic at last discovers the secret, but dies before he can reveal it. Glasses (1896) is the gruesome tale of how personal physical appearances effected prospects in the marriage market. The Next Time (1895) was another of James' contributions to The Yellow Book in which an author, determined to write a best seller, continually produces "an unscrupulous, an unsparing, a shameless, merciless masterpiece." They all, of course, prove to be commercially unsuccessful. The Way It Came (1896) was re-entitled The Friends of the Friends in its New York edition. It is a return to one of James' old themes-the anti-marriage plot.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940000740491
Publisher:	B&R Samizdat Express
Publication date:	10/15/2012
Series:	B&R Samizdat Express
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	397 KB

About the Author

Henry James, (15 April 1843 - 28 February 1916) was an American author regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of renowned philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James. He is best known for a number of novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between emigre Americans, English people, and continental Europeans - examples of such novels include The Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors, and The Wings of the Dove.

Date of Birth:

April 15, 1843

Date of Death:

February 28, 1916

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Place of Death:

London, England

Education:

Attended school in France and Switzerland; Harvard Law School, 1862-63