American Literature at the University of York.
H E N RY JA M E S Women and Realism
2 the actress and the orphan: henry james's art of loss, 1882–1895 3 teacups and love let ters: constance fenimore wo olson and henry james 4 realism and interior design: edith wharton and henry james epilo gue: 1892 biblio graphy
H E N RY JA M E S , Women and Realism
1 alice james and the p ortrait heroine
both in his vividly drawn female characters and in his relationships with female relatives and friends. Combining biography with literary criticism and theoretical inquiry, Victoria
CONTENTS introduction: ambivalent realism
Women were hugely important to Henry James,
coulson
V I C TO R I A C O U L S O N is a lecturer in
HENRY JAMES
Women and Realism
Coulson explores James’s relationships with three of the most important women in his life: his friends the novelists Constance Fenimore Woolson and Edith Wharton, and his sister Alice James, who composed a significant diary in the last years of her life. These writers shared not only their attitudes to gender and sexuality, but also their affinity for a certain form of literary representation, which Coulson defines as ‘ambivalent realism’. The book draws on a diverse range of sources from fiction, autobiography, theatre reviews, travel writing, private journals and correspondence. Coulson argues, compellingly, that the personal lives and literary works of these four writers manifest a
v i c to r ia co ulso n
widespread cultural ambivalence about gender identity at the end of the nineteenth century.
Jacket illustration: Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) by John Singer Sargent, 1883-4, oil on canvas, 82 ⅛in. x 43 ¼in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1916 (16.53). Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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v i c t o r i a c o u l s o n is a lecturer in American Literature at the University of York