American James Henry is a great writer, prose writer and playwright who has an excellent artistic style. He wrote a lot about the events of the civil war, the relationship of the Old and New Worlds. His works were valued at home, and in Russia were little known.
Henry James is a famous writer of literary classics at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth century, who lived most of his life in Europe and accepted British citizenship a year before his death. He became the first author to experiment with the formulation of novels. His works are a test in a different way to look at the world, to express thoughts and a syllable of narration. An essay entitled “The Art of Prose” was published on this subject, where the writer explained the essence of the genre: “a personal, direct impression of life, set forth on paper, whose value is measured only by the“ power of impressions ”.
Biography
Henry James was born into the family of the theologian on April 15, 1843 in New York. The future writer spent the early years in Europe, where he received his education, got acquainted with the culture and life of those places. By the will of fate, he had to change more than one school, study at home with tutors and teachers. While traveling with his father as a publicist, he read a lot, visited theaters, museums, while walking, he watched the behavior and communication of people. He adopted a mixture of cultures of Europe and the New World during the civil war. Subsequently, this greatly influenced his first works, which combined American and English cultures.
As an adult, he moves to Cambridge and plans to become a lawyer, even studying law. However, the enthusiasm for poetry outweighs the pros and cons, and the writer, choosing a literary path in his work, publishes his first works. The main direction that was traced at that time in his articles was a comparison of two societies: England and America. The stories often mention the adaptation of representatives of one estate to another. The emphasis is on the differences of society, intransigence in behavior and conversation.
Creative career
In 1861, James sustained a minor back injury while extinguishing a fire. She did not deprive him of the opportunity to walk, but did not allow him to actively participate in the Civil War.
In 1862, he was enrolled at Harvard for law departments, but did not finish his studies and left, having decided to write books.
The year 1865 was marked for Henry by the publication of the first article in Atlantic Monthly.
Four years later, James decides to go the way that he once made with his father, and drive through the cities of Europe, but on his own. First there was London, then other cities and everywhere he saw the collision of the Old and New Worlds. After spending more than a year on the trip, he was finally disappointed in the intransigence of cultures.
During the trips, Henry wrote several stories, short stories, which inexpressibly surprised and interested critics in the young author. True, they noted that the author pays too much attention to the attitude of the hero, not paying attention to the environment and events around.
Returning from a trip, in 1870 James publishes the novel “Guardian and Ward”, several stories and short stories. However, having stayed at home for a very short time, in 1875 he again left for London for a long 20 years, where he continued to write his books. From under the pen came out such works as: "Roderick Hudson", "Europeans", "Fiery Pilgrim."
During the 90s, he completed and published several books: Watch and Ward, Poynton Trophy, Princess Kazamassima, Inconvenient Age. In addition, as a playwright, Henry released the play Guy Domville, which was fully accepted and approved by the public. But this was the end of the test in this direction, since all subsequent pen tests did not bring satisfaction to either the author or the public.
The twentieth century was for Henry a new, final stage of writing. He wrote and published his greatest novels: “Dove Wings, ” “Ambassadors, ” and “Golden Vase.” Having made a short trip to his homeland, he publishes the essay "Scenes of American Life", which reflected pessimism and decadence in American culture.
During his creative life, James wrote more than 20 novels and 100 stories, about 12 stories and a lot of essays and articles. He planned to write a five-volume autobiography, but managed only two of its parts - “Little Boy and Others”, “Notes of the Son and Brother”. The third part of "Mature years" and remained to be left unfinished at the bureau on the day of his death.
All his works are distinguished by subtle psychologism and excellent knowledge of human nature. He masterfully describes to the smallest detail the souls of heroes, conversations and monologues, even how a person mentally reasones in a given situation. Thus, showing the whole emotional essence of the plot in any novel or story.
Personal life
Throughout his life, Henry never married, he had no children. The meaning of his life was work, writing books that really did not find a worthy response from that generation of readers. Already much later, readers became interested in his work, the theme of the civil war.
He spent the last years of his life in the acquired Lamhouse villa, which was located in the coastal town of Paradise. Henry led a beautiful and interesting social life, communicating and receiving guests, taking walks in the surrounding areas along the coast.
The writer died on February 28, 1916, all alone.
