Italian Hours - Softcover

James, Henry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1484906934 ISBN 13: 9781484906934

Publisher: Grove Press, 1958

Synopsis

It is a great pleasure to write the word; but I am not sure there is not a certain impudence in pretending to add anything to it. Venice has been painted and described many thousands of times, and of all the cities of the world is the easiest to visit without going there. Open the first book and you will find a rhapsody about it; step into the first picture-dealer's and you will find three or four high-coloured "views" of it. There is notoriously nothing more to be said on the subject. Every one has been there, and every one has brought back a collection of photographs. There is as little mystery about the Grand Canal as about our local thoroughfare, and the name of St. Mark is as familiar as the postman's ring. It is not forbidden, however, to speak of familiar things, and I hold that for the true Venice-lover Venice is always in order. There is nothing new to be said about her certainly, but the old is better than any novelty. It would be a sad day indeed when there should be something new to say. I write these lines with the full consciousness of having no information whatever to offer. I do not pretend to enlighten the reader; I pretend only to give a fillip to his memory; and I hold any writer sufficiently justified who is himself in love with his theme.

About this title

Review:

"Italian Hours is Henry James's most endearing travel book and one of the best of its kind by any American. His travel writing is a superb and integral part of his total output. John Auchard's editorial work on Italian Hours provide a significant contribution to the literature on James. Auchard is a wizard. His introduction is wise and skillful, informative, beautiful, stylish, and fun. The notes are helpful, unobtrusive, and richly detailed. The photographs and bibliography should combine to make this edition the 'definitive' one for a century of devoted readers."--Robert L. Gale

About the Author:

Henry James, OM (15 April 1843 – 28 February 1916) was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication date: 1958
• ISBN 10: 1484906934
• ISBN 13: 9781484906934
• Binding: Paperback