Description
Book SynopsisHadley examines how James disentangles himself from the moralizing frame through which English-language novels in the nineteenth century had imagined sexual passion. She shows how he pursues his ambitious enterprise to represent the privileges and the pains of turn-of-the-century leisure-class society.
Trade Review"...it is a great pleasure to read Tessa Hadley's own prose: not only is her argument finely crafted; it is often eloquent..." The Henry James Review
"Treating primarily the novels of the 1890's, Hadley's welcome book provides an unprecedented analysis of the moral framework James trancended to express sexual passion in his fiction. This volume will deepen understanding of the power and subtleties of the great love affairs in James's fictions; it is an essential work of criticism for all collections of modern English literature." Choice
"...a welcome addition to recent assessments meant to combat our view of James..." English Literature in Transition 1880-1920
Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1. 'Just you wait!': reflections on the last chapters of The Portrait of a Lady; 2. 'In a dream or an old novel': governesses in What Maisie Knew and The Turn of the Screw; 3. 'The sacred terror': The Awkward Age and James's men of the world; 4. 'Blushing in the dark': language and sex in The Ambassadors; 5. 'Poor girls with their rent to pay': class in In the Cage and The Wings of the Dove; 6. 'The house of quiet': privileges and pleasures in The Golden Bowl.
