How to get into Henry James? What do I start with? Pound said only to read The Sacred Fount after about 20 of James' novels...
>>24952725Washington Square is a good one to start with. Then read Portrait of a Lady and The Bostonians and What Maisie Knew.
>>24952725That's good advice. Daisy Miller, Aspern Papers, Washington Square, Bostonians, What Maisie Knew would be good starting points. Portrait is the classic but it is also huge. There's a good Penguin anthology called Selected Tales, sort of a "greatest hits" for HJ short fiction, and a very good two-volume set from Everyman's Library under the title Collected Stories that has pretty much everything a casual or even advanced HJ reader will ever need.
>>24952767I'd read at least one (earlier) James novel before Portrait and Maisie after Portrait because then you'll get to see a clear development in the prose style and way in which he deals with the inferiority of his characters. Maisie especially is when I personally think he makes a major breakthrough.
>>24952747>>24952767>>24952804Thanks guys. I'll pick up Washington Square and go from there.
>>24952725Here you go, anon. Some nice anon made this a couple of years ago and I used it to get into James. Have read all his works now and can confirm this is the way to go
>>24952804>inferiority of his charactersMeant interiority.>>24952866Hope you enjoy it.
Why don't Europeans like him? I'm a euro and he's surprisingly niche on the continent. Don't really know why, he's top tier even by our standards.
