The Reception of Henry James in Europe

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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.

Reviews

'The book provides us with a careful, indeed meticulous study of the different stages of Jamesian reception in Europe...this book is unique in its reflection and reproduction of James's socio-cultural milieu from the late Victorian Age to the present day. This volume becomes and important addition to both students and scholars interested in deciphering the international impact of James's work.' Maria Pirgerou, University of Athens, The European Association of American Studies.
'...impressive in its scope...this book also brings us up to date as to the critical work done on Henry James throughout Europe.' Professor Hubert Teyssandier, Paris Sorbonne, The Revue Franaise D'etudes Americaines.

Author Bio

Annick Duperray is Emerita Professor of American Literature at Aix-Marseille Universit, and was Overseas Project Director for the British Academy Network Group on Reception Studies from 2004 to 2009. She holds a doctorate on English fin-de-sicle literature and a Doctorat dEtat on Henry James. Her major publications include an analytical study of Henry Jamess tales, Echec et criture: essai sur les nouvelles dHenry James (1993), and several contributions, notably to Henry James in Context (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and Tracing Henry James (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008). She was volume editor for the first and third volume of the critical edition of Henry Jamess Nouvelles compltes (Editions Gallimard, Bibliothque de la Pliade, 2003/2011). Elinor Shaffer, FBA, is Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Modern Languages Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London, and Director of the Research Project on the Reception of British and Irish Authors in Europe. The author of The Fall of Jerusalem: The Mythological School in Biblical Criticism and Secular Literature 1770-1880(Cambridge University Press), and Erewhons of the Eye: Samuel Butler as Painter, Photographer, and Art Critic (Reaktion), and many articles on Coleridges aesthetics and other topics in European Romantic studies, she was a founder member of the British Comparative Literature Association and editor of the annual journal Comparative Criticism(Cambridge), and has taught in universities in Britain, the United States, and Europe.