Henry James
A recent biography of Henry James written by Sheldon M. Novick has its distinct virtues. Novick superbly parses James’s sometimes contradictory political views and his acquaintance with the politicians of the day. He is also very good on James’s approach-avoidance relationship to the world of the theater and on his highly ambivalent attitude toward his own Americanness. And when Novick discusses the late novels – which he clearly loves– the genius of James sometimes inhabits and energizes his prose.