On Writers and Writing Selected Essays

A new selection of Henry James's essays on the art of writing, from his famous essay "The Art of Fiction" to pieces on George Eliot, Ivan Turgenev, Honoré de Balzac, and others. Witty, erudite, and passionate, James's essays are a delight for any lover of the written word. "James knew how to be generous without sacrificing the truth. What lends dignity and breadth to [his essays] above their directness and simplicity... is the exploratory reach of James's mind." Henry James, the master novelist, started his literary career as a brash, often blistering reviewer, unafraid to skewer eminences like Charles Dickens and George Eliot, and continued to be a working critic for the rest of his life, driven by an unflagging desire to know what makes fiction work. James's critical essays represent an ongoing appreciation of the difficult art of the novel, searching in their consideration of story, character, and style.