The Outcry

by James, Henry; Strouse, Jean

• ISBN13: 9781590170007
• ISBN10: 1590170008
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-31
• Publisher: NYRB Classics

Summary

The Outcry, Henry James's final novel, is an effervescent comedy of money and manners. Breckenridge Bender, a very rich American with a distinct resemblance to J.P. Morgan, arrives in England with the purpose of acquiring some very great art; he is directed to Dedborough, the estate of the debt-ridden Lord Theign. But plutocrat and aristocrat come into unexpected conflict when a young connoisseur, out to establish his own reputation, declares a prize painting from the lord's collection to be in fact an even rarer, and pricier, work than had been thought. A popular success in its own day, but long unavailable since and now almost unknown, The Outcry is one of the most surprising and amusing of James's works. Here he explores questions of privilege and initiative, repute and honor, high art and base calculation, revisiting some of his favorite themes with a deft and winning touch.

Author Biography

Henry James (1843–1916), the younger brother of the psychologist William James and one of the greatest of American writers, was born in New York but lived for most of his life in England. Among the best known of his many stories and novels are The Portrait of a Lady, The Turn of the Screw, and The Wings of the Dove. In addition to The New York Stories of Henry James, New York Review Classics has published several long-unavailable James novels: The Other House, The Outcry, andThe Ivory Tower.

Jean Strouse is the author of Alice James, A Biography andMorgan, American Financier. A Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation, she lives in New York City.