Library of America Complete Novels of Henry James Ser.: Henry James: Novels 1901-1902 (LOA #162) : The Sacred Fount / the Wings of the Dove by Henry James (2006, Hardcover)
This Library of America volume brings together one of Henry James's most unusual experiments and one of his most beloved masterpieces Writing to his friend William Dean Howells, Henry James characterized his experimental novel, The Sacred Fount , as the only one of his novels to be told in the first person, as "a fine flight into the high fantastic." While traveling to the country house of Newmarch for a weekend party, the nameless narrator becomes obsessed with the idea that a person may become younger or cleverer by tapping the "sacred fount" of another person. Convinced that Grace Brissenden has become younger by drawing upon her husband, Guy, the narrator seeks to discover the source of the newfound wit of Gilbert Long, previously "a fine piece of human furniture." His perplexing and ambiguous quest, and the varying reactions it provokes from the other guests, calls into question the imaginative inquiry central to James's art of the novel. James described the essential idea of The Wings of the Dove as "a young person conscious of a great capacity for life, but early stricken and doomed, condemned to die under short respite, while also enamoured of the world." The heroine, a wealthy young American heiress, Milly Theale (inspired by James's beloved cousin Minny Temple), is slowly drawn into a trap set for her by the English adventuress Kate Croy and her lover, the journalist Morton Densher. The unexpected outcome of their mercenary scheme provides the resolution to a tragic story of love and betrayal, innocence and experience that has long been acknowledged as one of James's supreme achievements as a novelist. This volume prints the New York Edition text of The Wings of the Dove , and includes the illuminating preface James wrote for that edition. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation's literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America's best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Library of America, T.H.E.
ISBN-10
193108288x
ISBN-13
9781931082884
eBay Product ID (ePID)
3038674617
Product Key Features
Book Title
Henry James: Novels 1901-1902 (Loa #162) : the Sacred Fount / the Wings of the Dove
Author
Henry James
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Topic
Classics, Literary, American / General
Book Series
Library of America Complete Novels of Henry James Ser.
Publication Year
2006
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Literary Collections, Fiction
Number of Pages
713 Pages
Dimensions
Item Length
8.1 in
Item Height
1.2 in
Item Width
5.2 in
Item Weight
22.4 Oz
Additional Product Features
Series Volume Number
5
Age Range
18
Lc Classification Number
Ps21122006
Grade from
Twelfth Grade
Copyright Date
2006
Target Audience
Trade
Lccn
2005-049443
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