The "treacherous" years, as Edel calls them cover 1895 to 1901. In the beginning of this installment Edel pays special attention to James's playwright period. My favorite piece of history from this time is of H.G. Wells as a theater critic. I had no idea. Because of James's limited success in the theater his plays are all but forgotten when one thinks of the works of Henry James, which is a pity since he cared about them a great deal. The failure stays with him for a long time. It is also during this time that James writes the well-known piece, "Turn of the Screw" and he settles down enough to "buy" Lamb House in Rye, East Sussex, England. He ends up spending nearly twenty years in this house; a sure sign the bachelor is finally starting to slow down. ( )

1050 Henry James 1895-1901: The Treacherous Years, by Leon Edel (read 21 Apr 1970) I read volume I of this work on Apr 13, 1963, volume II on May 25, 1963, and Volume III on June 9, 1963. I have now read this fourth volume of the five-volume biography. I read a lot of James in 1963. I suppose I should read some now. I may yet. I maybe should re-read The Portrait of a Lady, which I read in April of 1952--and got nothing out of. If now I appreciated it this would be far more indicative of progress than was my reading of Hardy's The Return of the Native in January 1965, when I saw how obtuse I was in Nov 1946. Edel's work is superlative, and this volume IV is no exception. The book goes through James' final experience with the theater, culminating in the climactic opening night of Guy Domville on Jan 5, 1895, when he was hissed as author. He discusses The Turn of the Screw and related works perceptively, and then James leaving London and establishing himself at Rye in Lamb House, and a trip to the European mainland. One wonders continually at the smallness of the world. E.g., George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, and Arnold Bennett were three new critics who attended the opening night of Guy Domville! ( )