Henry James and the writing of transport / Alicia Rix.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rix, Alicia, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

James, Henry, 1843-1916--Criticism and interpretation.

James, Henry.

Transportation in literature.

American literature--19th century--History and criticism.

American literature.

American literature--20th century--History and criticism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 231 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Summary:

Few studies of Henry James and travel attend to the act of travelling itself: a formative experience for the author and for his invariably itinerant characters. This book explores the relationship between transport and representation in James's later fiction, examining the ineluctable significance of moving and being moved. Each chapter adopts a particular vehicle: by ship, cab, train, motorcar and bicycle, showing how James makes use of the cyclist's embroilment in media culture, the ocean-traveller's fascination with record, or the cabby's superior knowledge of geographical and sexual relations. Drawing on contemporary newspapers, fiction, and guidebooks, Henry James and the Writing of Transport demonstrates how transport is not only contextually crucial to James's fictions but inheres in his style and logic. In particular, it argues, transport ministers to James's complex preoccupation with relationality: a quality which ranges from the intense subjectivity of his fictional worlds to their series of transatlantic encounters.

Contents:

Introduction. The question of conveyance

'An emphatic zero': crossing the ocean in The Ambassadors (1903) and 'The Patagonia' (1888)

'The rotary motion' : cabs and carriages in What Maisie knew (1897) and The golden bowl (1904)

'Suffered transfer' : train journeys in The sacred fount (1901) and The American scene (1907)

'The lives of others' : motoring in 'The velvet glove' (1909)

'Henry's bicycle' : cycling in 'The papers' (1903)

Epilogue. 'His kind of traffic'.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 21 Mar 2025).

ISBN:

9781108635769

1108635768

9781108613965

1108613969

9781108562980

1108562981

OCLC:

1483704292