English Hours

A collection of what the introduction calls travel essays written by Henry James about England for American audiences. They are a mixed bag but some I found highly enjoyable, esp. the one when he seeks out Winchelsea and Rye because of an unfinished Thackery novel. That is my brand of tourism. A fun oddity in the James cannon.

The most sensitive painter of affectionate verbal impressions of traditional England in all prose literature. At least in my reading history. James' manner of writing about London or an old manor house in the countryside is so full of enthusiasm and reflective love. Reading his travel writing is like entering a time machine and peeping through the window into a different world.

This is a very pretty book that would be better as a coffee table book than as something read straight through from cover to cover. The pictures, drawings, cover, and paper quality are appealing. It is a travel book that makes an effort to add literary references to a trip around England. Included are references to Browning, Thackeray, Dickens, Burney, Eliot, and others.

This was also a difficult book to read. Although making full use of lengthy sentences, James didn't seem to actually say much in this book. It had all of the challenges of James' writing style without the benefit of the strong character presentation that James sometimes does so well in his fiction. A few memorable moments were included. There was an appealing show more description of Browning's work in the context of his burial at Westminster Abbey. There was an unappealing though brief description of a financially well-off woman visiting "idiot" children and bringing them toys. Modern sensibilities would have some things to say about this, but it was one of the few moments of the book that moved beyond intellectual abstraction.

I usually enjoy James' writing, but would recommend this book only for those interested in the artwork. show less