Letters, Fictions, Lives

This volume attempts to determine the early influence shared between William Dean Howells and Henry James by reconstructing and evaluating documentary evidence of their literary cross-fertilization. Of the 151 letters included in this volume most of the extant correspondence between the two men only half have been printed elsewhere. All items previously unpublished are letters by James. The selection represents each writer's most significant criticism of the other, providing a valuable tool for historically informed comprehension and appreciation of both men's work.