The Beldonald Holbein

James, Henry, 1843-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 46K words
Chapters: 5

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Beldonald Holbein by Henry JamesAuthor: James, Henry, 1843-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 1, 2000

Editor's review

In this novella by Henry James, a painter living in London recounts how he comes to paint an American old woman of plain features but remarkable expression, and is drawn into a social circle's contest of taste and vanity. The work continues James's late manner of subtle, circuitous psychological realism, unfolding delicate observations of human nature and tensions of artistic ethics within everyday social scenes; it is concise yet richly layered. Readers familiar with Henry James who want a short entry point into his style will find this a good opening; it also offers interest to those drawn to the motif of "portrait and truth" in literature and to Anglo-American cultural differences. As it is a public-domain English-language eBook, readers with some English proficiency are advised, and close reading with notes or an introduction is recommended.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers who favor Henry James and psychological realist fiction
Literature lovers interested in art, portraiture, and social vanity
English learners who want a shorter work as an entry into James
Researchers of Anglo-American cultural contrast in European and American literature

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction who prefer tight plotting and strong action
General readers with weak English reading skills who need a Chinese translation
Readers expecting a long, large-scale narrative with complex multiple threads

Reading tips

Read the introduction and the author's background first, then the text, clarifying the relationships between the narrator and the central figures.
Note the unreliability of the painter's perspective and watch how his judgments of "appearance" and "spirit" shift.
Read it in two or three sittings, and after each, sort out the characters' motives and implications in the social scenes.
Compare it with other James novellas and short stories to sense the subtlety and indirection of his late style.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a Chinese translation or the English original?

This entry is a public-domain English eBook released by Project Gutenberg; the text is in English and contains no Chinese translation. Readers with some English proficiency can read it directly; for easier comprehension, consult a Chinese translation or use notes.

Do I need to know other works by Henry James before reading?

No. The book is short and focused enough to be read on its own. Still, James's late style is subtle and his psychological depiction fine-grained; knowing the basics of his psychological realism will make it easier to grasp the narrator's attitude and the work's irony.

Is this book suitable as English-learning material?

It suits readers at an upper-intermediate or advanced level who want to engage with literary originals. James's sentences are long and his diction refined, which may challenge beginners. Use a dictionary and paragraph-retelling practice: grasp plot and character relationships first, then appreciate the language.

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About the author

James, Henry, 1843-1916 Author

Henry James (1843–1916) was a novelist born in the United States who later became a British citizen, known for his psychological realism. He advances his narratives through his characters' consciousness and moral dilemmas, in a delicate, restrained style with carefully crafted sentences, often using limited points of view to leave meaningful gaps. His works frequently explore themes such as the collision between European and American cultures, marriage and freedom, and innocence versus worldly sophistication. The collection holds 81 of his works, including the two-volume The Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, The Beast in the Jungle, and the novella The Turn of the Screw. These works range from novels to novellas and show his fine, detailed portrayal of inner life across different lengths. Public information is limited, so biographical details are omitted, but these works alone reveal his important place in the tradition of psychological narrative in English literature.