Henry James /

A model of economy, Bellringer's book neatly synthesizes the massive body of James scholarship that has been growing since the 1950s, proving once again that complete command of a complex subject can sometimes yield a clarity that is only apparently simple. The brief biographical chapter succeeds in demonstrating as well James's significant contributions to the development of the modern novel; and successive chapters, arranged both chronologically and thematically, continue not only to elucidate various aspects of this, but also provide valuable insights into the individual works discussed. The book concludes with a useful summary chapter on the critical fortunes of James's work in the seventy years since his death. Lyall Powers's brief introductory volume, Henry James: An Introduction and Interpretation (1970), is now almost 20 years old; the two admirable Twayne volumes--by R.E. Long on James's early novels (CH, Sep '83) and by William Macnaughton on James's later novels (CH, Sep '88)--have a more textual focus. Thus this title provides the best introduction to the Henry James of both Anglo-American and international letters. Not designed solely for the general reader or the undergraduate student, this little book should please not only those who appreciate James but those who take equal delight in elegant critical analysis. Thorough notes and selective bibliography. -S. R. Graham, Nazareth College of Rochester