Erotics, Aesthetics, Politics: Henry James Today

Abstract

This article surveys important developments in the study of Henry James over the past five years or so. Taking my cue from the recent near simultaneous publication of Colm Toíbín's and David Lodge's biographical novels about James, The Master and Author, Author, I trace areas of current critical dispute and renewed interest in their divergent treatments of James's ‘character’. In particular, I consider recent debates over James's handling of the erotic and sexuality, the resurgent study of James's aesthetics and his place in the literary marketplace of the late nineteenth century, and finally, the place of James studies in relation to cultural criticism.