Henry James, Impressionism, and the Public

Proposing a new approach to Jamesian aesthetics, Daniel Hannah examines the complicated relationship between Henry James's impressionism and his handling of 'the public.' In readings of 'The Art of Fiction,' What Maisie Knew, The Wings of the Dove and The American Scene, among other works, Hannah shows James continually returning to the impression as a site for exploiting, resisting and re-imagining a perceived breakdown between the private and the public.

Daniel Hannah is Associate Professor in the Department of English at Lakehead University, Canada.

Introduction; Chapter 1 Henry James, Painterly Impressionism, Publicity, and Spectacle; Chapter 2 Jamesian Impressionism and British Aestheticism: Influence and Exposure; Chapter 3 "Taking in": Impressionability, Children, and Education in What Maisie Knew; Chapter 4 The Future of the Novel": Impressions and the Extrarepresentational in The Wings of the Dove; Chapter 5 Impressions and the Nation in The American Scene; concl Conclusion;