The ''Notebooks of Henry James'' are private notes made by the American-British novelist and critic. Usually the notes are of a professional nature and concern ideas for possible or ongoing fictions, but there are a number of personal notes as well. James made entries in the ''Notebooks'' throughout most of his career.

Publication history

The ''Notebooks'' weren't published until 1947, when they appeared in a heavily annotated edition compiled by

F. O. Matthiessen Francis Otto Matthiessen (February 19, 1902 – April 1, 1950) was an educator, scholar and literary critic influential in the fields of American literature and American studies. His best known work, ''American Renaissance: Art and Expression in ...

and Kenneth Murdock. The editors pointed out notebook entries that eventually turned into finished works by James, and then went beyond that simple editorial function to discuss and evaluate the works themselves. Some objected to such critical commentary, while others accepted it as the editors' opinion and nothing more. In 1987

Leon Edel Joseph Leon Edel (9 September 1907 – 5 September 1997) was an American/Canadian literary critic and biographer. He was the elder brother of North American philosopher Abraham Edel. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' calls Edel "the foremo ...

and Lyall Powers published another edition of the ''Notebooks'' that eliminated critical commentary on James' finished works, and added substantial new material from other, less formal notes written by James. The new edition also cleared up some obscure references to people mentioned in the ''Notebooks''.

''Notebook'' contents

For those interested in the planning and writing of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...

s, the ''Notebooks'' are of substantial value. They show James thinking through various possibilities for

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

and

plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the story of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 Other * ''Plot' ...

development in his fictions, as well as their overall structure and length. James himself seems to have referred to the ''Notebooks'' frequently when he wrote the prefaces to the ''

New York Edition The ''New York Edition'' of Henry James' fiction was a 24-volume collection of the Anglo-American writer's novels, novellas and short stories, originally published in the U.S. and the UK between 1907 and 1909, with a photogravure frontispiec ...

'' (1907-1909) of his fiction. Occasionally the ''Notebooks'' feature encouraging comments by James to himself. A famous example is his brief but emotional note after the failure of his play, ''

Guy Domville ''Guy Domville'' is a play by Henry James first staged in London in 1895. The première performance ended with the author being jeered by a section of the audience as he bowed onstage at the end of the play. This failure largely marked the end o ...

''. The later Edel-Powers edition includes many more personal notes. Though sometimes trivial, this additional material gives some insight into James' everyday schedule, his wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and even his financial affairs.

References

* ''The Notebooks of Henry James'' edited by F. O. Matthiessen and Kenneth Murdock (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press 1981) * ''The Complete Notebooks of Henry James'' edited by Leon Edel and Lyall Powers (New York: Oxford University Press 1987)

External links

Entries from the ''Notebooks'' for ''The Spoils of Poynton''. A number of other ''Notebook'' entries are available at this site.
{{Henry James 1947 non-fiction books Books published posthumously Books by Henry James