Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece | 
After reading this book, I had a loooooooong list of books I wanted to read. Needless to say many—but not all—of them were books by James. I decided to see which I already owned before buying any of them and it turns out the answer is quite a few. Oddly enough, The Portrait of a Lady is not one of them. Anyway, I thought I‘d start rereading them so my current grab-n-go book is The Turn of the Screw.
pickTruly one of the most fascinating, well-written books I have ever read. If you had told me a biography about Henry James—told through, and along with, the literary critique of perhaps his greatest work, The Portrait of a Lady—would be unputdownable before I started reading it...well, I wouldn‘t have believed you. Shows you what I know. I can‘t recommend this book highly enough. A must read for fans of James, and authors & books more generally.
“...he wasn‘t embarrassed to admit he still felt a primeval pleasure in turning the pages.”
Have to say, I‘m not embarrassed either!
“For almost no one thought that adolescents should simply be allowed to read everything.”
Clearly, some debates/conversations have been happening for quite a long time!
Sticking with nonfiction since it seems to be holding the book doldrums at bay. Plus, this one has been in my TBR pile for far longer than I am willing to admit!
#TBRtemptation post 2! Any Henry James fans here on Litsy? This beauty almost won the Pulitzer Prize. This is a uniquely-angled biography of James, focusing on the dramatic backstory of his masterpiece, "Portrait Of a Lady" (1881). Part hard biography, part criticism, part travelogue, part detective story. His family, his European literary circles, & his psychology made for a rich cocktail. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook ?
