William and Henry James: Selected Letters

This collection of 216 letters offers all accessible, single-volume distillation of the exchange between celebrated brothers William and Henry James. Spanning more than fifty years, their correspondence provides a lively version of the persons, places, and events that affected the Euro-American world from 1861 until the death of William James in August 1910. An engaging introduction by John J. McDermott suggests the significance of the Selected Letters for the study of the entire family. Interest in the James family and their wealth of correspondence is based not upon subject -- for their letters dwell primarily upon the ordinary routines of daily life -- but rather upon the quality of their prose: the turn of a phrase, the power of description, and the literary elegance that clothes even mundane feelings, occurrences, and events. This veritable feast of personal, social, and cultural insights is indeed "moveable"; the brothers frequently write each other from favorite countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. They are intrigued by persons of every stripe; by visage, human carriage, and voices: by weather, natural light, and topography; and, with virtually everything, by ambience. Volume editors Ignas K. Skrupskelis and Elizabeth M. Berkeley have produced a satisfying collection that offers insight not only into the relationship between the two James brothers, but the family as a whole. Respected for their literary and philosophical accomplishments, Henry and William James were possessed of an intellectual creativity that makes their correspondence still a delight to read a century after it was written.

William and Henry James are well known for their master works of psychology and fiction respectively, but the celebrated brothers amassed an impressive collection of letters to one another as well. Through their copious correspondence, readers are privy to the private thoughts of these intellectual heavyweights. Sure, their letters expound on philosophical, political, social, and cultural subjects with imagination and wit, but more often they focus on the quotidian: health, news of friends and family, mutual praise, advice, complaints, and good-natured ribbing. What makes these 216 epistles remarkable is the quality of writing and the keen observations made by the brothers James during their wide and frequent travels across America and Europe. The letters contained in William and Henry James: Selected Letters span more than 50 years and are infused with the history and events of their era. This volume illuminates each man's distinct personality and reveals the relationship the two crafted out of equal parts of criticism and support.