A private life of Henry James

"From its first scene of Henry James on a gondola in Venice attempting to drown the dresses of his friend Constance Fenimore Woolson, A Private Life of Henry James is a rich exploration of the lasting influence on the master's work of two independent, fiercely intelligent women."--BOOK JACKET. "Henry James's cousin Minny Temple was the "heroine" of his youth in New England; he saw her as a free spirit, "a plant of pure American growth." The writer Constance Fenimore Woolson was a friend of his middle years in Europe, a solitary, mature woman who pursued her ambitions with an intensity that matched his own. Both women had extraordinary impact on James, even (perhaps especially) in the wakes of their premature deaths."--BOOK JACKET. "Lyndall Gordon gives us a remarkable portrait of these two strongly individual women, both ahead of their time, and their creative intimacy with Henry James. Through these women, we see some of the most protected aspects of the man more clearly - both the powers and the limits of his sympathy. We also glimpse the origins of his most exceptional portrayals of advanced women."--BOOK JACKET.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.