Product DescriptionWritten at the end of the 1890's, when issues such as female sexuality and the education of women were in fierce debate, James's novel enacts the tension between various views of women and also of an aristocracy which was fading. This novel anticipates the experimental fiction of VirginiaWoolf and James Joyce. The text is that of the first edition in book form, published in 1899. Most other existing texts are based on the earlier serial version.About the AuthorHenry James (1843-1916), son of Henry James Sr. and brother of the philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James, was an American-born author and literary critic of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He spent much of his life in Europe and became a British subject shortly before his death. He is primarily known for novels, novellas and short stories based on themes of consciousness and morality.