Henry James and Sexuality

by Hugh Stevens

Overview

Henry James and Sexuality offers a bold, new interpretation of James' fiction. Hugh Stevens argues that James' writing contains daring and radical representations of transgressive desires and marginalized sexual identities. He demonstrates the importance of incestuous desire, masochistic fantasy, and same-sex passions in a body of fiction that ostensibly conforms to, while ironically mocking, the contemporary moral and publishing codes James faced. This original and exciting work will transform our understanding of this most enigmatic of writers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521622592
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/02/1998
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.67(d)

Table of Contents

1. Henry James and the languages of sex; 2. Gender and representation in The Wings of the Dove; 3. Sexuality and the aesthetic in The Golden Bowl; 4. The Eroticism of prohibition: masochism and the law in Roderick Hudson; 5. Queer plotting: The Bostonians and the Princess Casamassima; 6. James's late short fiction and the spectacle of modern homosexuality; 7. Suicide and blackmail: James's 'poor sensitive gentlemen'; Conclusion: 'that queer monster the artist'; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

"Combining extraordinary theoretical range and subtlety with deft readings of a swath of Jamesian prose, Hugh Stevens makes the most comprehensive and compelling argument to date for James's place in queer literary history, setting a high standard indeed for interlocutors to come." Henry James Review

From the Publisher