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Article: A Ring of Conspirators: Henry James and His Literary Circle, 1895-1915.
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- November 12, 1988
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1988 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A RING OF CONSPIRATORS: HENRY JAMES AND HIS LITERARY CIRCLE, 1895-1915. By Miranda Seymour. Hodder & Stoughton; 327 pages; [British pounds]17.95
JUST before he died, Henry James became convinced that he was Napoleon and ordered the immediate redecoration of the Tuileries. Perhaps his delusion of grandeur sprang from the fact that he had just been awarded the Order of Merit. He died early in 1916, just after he had taken British citizenship. One of his sponsors was the prime minister, who allowed himself a wry smile as he subscribed to the proposition that James could "both write and talk English".
In Miranda Seymour's sympathetic and impressionistic ...