Henry James,(April 15,1843 - February 28,1916) was an American vvriter, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergy-man, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist VVilliam James and diarist Alice James.James spent the last 40 years of his life in England, becoming a British subject in 1915, one year before his death. He is primarily known for the series of novels in vvhich he portrays the encounter of Ameri-cans with Europe and Europeans. His method of vvriting from the point of view of a character within a tale allovvs him to explore issues related to consciousness and perception, and his style in later vvorks has been compared to impressionist painting.James contributed significantly to the criticism of fiction, particularly in his insistence that vvriters be allovved the greatest possible freedom in presenting their view of the world. His imaginative use of point of view, interior monologue and possibly unreliable narrators in his own novels and tales brought a new depth and interest to narrative fiction. An extraordi-narily productive vvriter, in addition to his voluminous vvorks of fiction he published articles and books of travel, biography, autobiography, and criticism, and vvrote plays, some of vvhich were performed during his lifetime vvith moderate success. His theatrical work is thought to have profoundly influenced his later novels and tales.
