Partial Portraits

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

James, Henry, 1843-1916

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Partial Portraits" by Henry James is a collection of literary essays written in the late 19th century. The work comprises critical sketches of notable literary figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Eliot, and Robert Louis Stevenson, examining both their contributions to literature and their personal lives. Each essay aims to provide a nuanced understanding of its subject, reflecting on their thoughts, writing styles, and the broader cultural context of their time. The opening of "Partial Portraits" features an essay focused on Ralph Waldo Emerson, wherein James critiques Mr. Elliot Cabot's biography of Emerson. James expresses his admiration for Emerson's spiritual insights while lamenting the lack of vividness in Cabot's portrayal, which he feels renders Emerson's life somewhat monochromatic. He notes that while Emerson's life was marked by tranquility and introspection, it also lacked the drama and variety that could have made his biography more engaging. Through this early exploration, the reader is introduced to James' analytical style and his keen ability to capture the essence of his literary subjects, a theme likely continued throughout the collection. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

Emerson

The life of George Eliot

Daniel Deronda: a conversation

Anthony Trollope

Robert Louis Stevenson

Miss Woolson

Alphonse Daudet

Guy de Maupassant

Ivan Turgénieff

George Du Maurier

The art of fiction.

Credits:

Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images available at The Internet Archive)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 61.7 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partial_Portraits

Release date is 2018-12-14