Henry James, Washington Square

Leonardo Buonomo (Universita degli studi di Trieste)

Ed. by Neil Cornwell, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.3: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Early Twentieth-century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1881

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Writing to his friend and fellow novelist William Dean Howells in January 1880, Henry James announced the forthcoming serialization of his new novel

Washington Square

. As if to disown it, while at the same time calling attention to the special quality and significance of what he had undertaken, he styled it “a poorish story in three numbers – a tale purely American, the writing of which made me feel acutely the want of the ‘paraphernalia’”. As James’s notebooks testify, the main source for

Washington Square

was a story that the English actress Frances Anne Kemble had told him about her brother: he, a handsome, selfish, penniless soldier, had captivated the heart of a plain, dull heiress, but had deserted her upon realizing that her father would disinherit her if she married…

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2350 words

Citation: Buonomo, Leonardo. "Washington Square". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 March 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8692, accessed 22 November 2024.]

Henry James, Washington Square

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