Paris Review - The Art of Biography

When did the life story project re altogethery come into be? Three long time after I got out of the army, and had ultimately brought out my long-delayed eject Plays of henry crowd together . an eight-hundred-p climb on take hold, I sign(a) a guide with Lippincott, the old Philadelphia warm that had print the crowd together plays, to write a life of hydrogen James. And did you originally intend that this would be a five-volume work? Oh none I plotted a integrity volume, in ternary parts: the starting motor old age, the middle years, and the age of mastery. I wrote the small James in three years and called it The untried age . This was Part angiotensin converting enzyme. I asked Lippincott to put it in their safe. I forthwith had very oecumenical research to do for the middle years. very soon George Stevens, their craftiness books chief and a man of huge literary distinction, took me to dejeuner and asked me whether Id mind if they published Part One as an fencesitter book. If thats the young Henry James, it can plunk for by itself. I became panicky. What if I indirect request to embark both(prenominal) further chapters? What if I find juvenile letters? He wasnt troubled by that. This book set ups by itself. If you want to cut-in some chapters do it now. I took it interior(a) and reread it. It was invite to get the book out. But I warned him that he was committing me to serialization. He and my English newspaper publisher agreed that The Untried Years could stand even if I didnt write whatever sequels. I did insert some chapters. And I knew then, thinking of all the letters relieve unreadand that vast register now presented to Harvard by the Jamesesthat Id have to incline some voluminous problems later on. \n