The Life of Henry James After the Publishing of The Turn of the Screw
by Ashleigh Ray
After the publishing of The Turn of the Screw in 1898, Henry James emerged into the new century with a literal change of face. His staple beard had been shaved, leaving his face and expressions open for public view. This new period of James’s life brought with it new friends and colleagues to add to his literary circle, namely Joseph Conrad and Edith Wharton. Between the years of 1899 and 1900, James kept busy writing short stories and prose pieces. He began working on a novel titled The Sacred Fount in 1900, and ended up creating a seventy thousand-word work. This word count, although much different from his past novels and novellas, set the course for his future writing excursions during this early 20th century period: The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors, The Golden Bowl, and the remarkable novella The Beast in the Jungle.
After spending two decades away from the United States, James returned in 1904 and visited states throughout the country, favoring those to the east. He gave lectures to clubs and universities while traveling, these trips helping him to write a book of travel essays entitled The American Scene upon his return to England in 1907. He wrote solely about the Eastern states, leaving the Midwestern and Western areas for a separate volume he never got the chance to write. Back in England, James had a lot of companions to keep him company, like Dudley Jocelyn Persse, a man whose friendship with James lasted a lifetime, and Hendrik Christian Anderson, a sculptor James often saw in Rome. In the years of 1907 – 1909, James dealt with the failure of his “New York Edition,” a collection of his writings that came in twenty-four volumes, The Novels and Tales of Henry James. He spent years editing the texts and creating prefaces. Still, the project’s first royalties totaled only $211. Following the failure, James sank into what he called the “black depression” (Moore 106). He consulted the physician Sir William Osler and a heart specialist, both of whom told him he had nothing to worry about. Still, his depression remained. His brother William and William’s wife Alice traveled across the Atlantic to visit James during this rough time and attempted to lift his spirits. Sadly, in August of 1910, William died at the James’ summer home in New Hampshire. There was a funeral in America after which James remained in the country for a year, staying at William’s home in Cambridge.
In the spring of 1911, James received an honorary degree from Harvard. After accepting the degree “with deference to William’s memory,” James returned to England and once again began writing, starting with a series of autobiographical works entitled, A Small Boy and Others, Notes of a Son and Brother, and an unfinished volume, The Middle Years (Moore 107). In 1914, at the start of World War I, James was still in England. As a native American, he was an “alien” in the country where he had spent so much of his life. However, in 1915, he formally became a British subject as a result of his annoyance that the Americans had yet to join World War II. During this time, he often wrote essays about the war. A collection of these essays can be found in the volume titled, Within the Rim, published in 1918.
On December 2nd, 1915, James suffered a sudden stroke, followed shortly after by another. It was suggested by Edward Marsh, a man on the staff of the Prime Minister, that James be given the Order of Merit. Once George V approved the certificate and its recipient, Lord Bryce, a noted historian, delivered James’s award to his sick bed. Henry James lived for another year until dying on February 28th of 1916. His sister-in-law, Alice, held his funeral in Chelsea Old Church in England. Per his wishes, James was cremated, his ashes sent back to America to be spread on family graves. James left behind two unfinished novels, The Ivory Tower and The Sense of the Past, published a year after his death in 1917. A memorial tablet sits on one of the walls of the Chelsea Old Church, regarding James as a “lover and interpreter of the fine amenities of brave decisions and generous loyalties” (Moore 116). (Moore 96-116)
After its publication, The Turn of the Screw became a hot topic for critics and intellectuals alike. Many analyze it as a reflection of the Victorian time period, likening the main character, the governess, to an equality seeking woman of the time, using her assumption of the role of observer rather than the observed as example (Walton 348-359). The novella is known by most as a representation of the gothic genre, the themes concerning ghosts and ravens prevalent during the movement. Today, The Turn of the Screw is a classic novel that has influenced both novels and movies and has been adapted into countless movies, like for example, The Innocence, a 1960s film directed and produced by Jack Clayton.
Works Cited
Moore, Harry T. Henry James and His World. New York: The Viking Press, 1974. Print.
Walton, Priscilla L. “The Subjectivities and Sexualities of The Turn of the Screw.” Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism: The Turn of the Screw. 3rd ed. (2010): 348 – 359. Print.
After spending two decades away from the United States, James returned in 1904 and visited states throughout the country, favoring those to the east. He gave lectures to clubs and universities while traveling, these trips helping him to write a book of travel essays entitled The American Scene upon his return to England in 1907. He wrote solely about the Eastern states, leaving the Midwestern and Western areas for a separate volume he never got the chance to write. Back in England, James had a lot of companions to keep him company, like Dudley Jocelyn Persse, a man whose friendship with James lasted a lifetime, and Hendrik Christian Anderson, a sculptor James often saw in Rome. In the years of 1907 – 1909, James dealt with the failure of his “New York Edition,” a collection of his writings that came in twenty-four volumes, The Novels and Tales of Henry James. He spent years editing the texts and creating prefaces. Still, the project’s first royalties totaled only $211. Following the failure, James sank into what he called the “black depression” (Moore 106). He consulted the physician Sir William Osler and a heart specialist, both of whom told him he had nothing to worry about. Still, his depression remained. His brother William and William’s wife Alice traveled across the Atlantic to visit James during this rough time and attempted to lift his spirits. Sadly, in August of 1910, William died at the James’ summer home in New Hampshire. There was a funeral in America after which James remained in the country for a year, staying at William’s home in Cambridge.
In the spring of 1911, James received an honorary degree from Harvard. After accepting the degree “with deference to William’s memory,” James returned to England and once again began writing, starting with a series of autobiographical works entitled, A Small Boy and Others, Notes of a Son and Brother, and an unfinished volume, The Middle Years (Moore 107). In 1914, at the start of World War I, James was still in England. As a native American, he was an “alien” in the country where he had spent so much of his life. However, in 1915, he formally became a British subject as a result of his annoyance that the Americans had yet to join World War II. During this time, he often wrote essays about the war. A collection of these essays can be found in the volume titled, Within the Rim, published in 1918.
On December 2nd, 1915, James suffered a sudden stroke, followed shortly after by another. It was suggested by Edward Marsh, a man on the staff of the Prime Minister, that James be given the Order of Merit. Once George V approved the certificate and its recipient, Lord Bryce, a noted historian, delivered James’s award to his sick bed. Henry James lived for another year until dying on February 28th of 1916. His sister-in-law, Alice, held his funeral in Chelsea Old Church in England. Per his wishes, James was cremated, his ashes sent back to America to be spread on family graves. James left behind two unfinished novels, The Ivory Tower and The Sense of the Past, published a year after his death in 1917. A memorial tablet sits on one of the walls of the Chelsea Old Church, regarding James as a “lover and interpreter of the fine amenities of brave decisions and generous loyalties” (Moore 116). (Moore 96-116)
After its publication, The Turn of the Screw became a hot topic for critics and intellectuals alike. Many analyze it as a reflection of the Victorian time period, likening the main character, the governess, to an equality seeking woman of the time, using her assumption of the role of observer rather than the observed as example (Walton 348-359). The novella is known by most as a representation of the gothic genre, the themes concerning ghosts and ravens prevalent during the movement. Today, The Turn of the Screw is a classic novel that has influenced both novels and movies and has been adapted into countless movies, like for example, The Innocence, a 1960s film directed and produced by Jack Clayton.
Works Cited
Moore, Harry T. Henry James and His World. New York: The Viking Press, 1974. Print.
Walton, Priscilla L. “The Subjectivities and Sexualities of The Turn of the Screw.” Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism: The Turn of the Screw. 3rd ed. (2010): 348 – 359. Print.
