Henry James (1843-1916), born in New York City, was the son of noted religious philosopher Henry James, Sr., and brother of eminent psychologist and philosopher William James. He spent his early life in America and studied in Geneva, London and Paris during his adolescence to gain the worldly experience so prized by his father. He lived in Newport, went briefly to Harvard Law School, and in 1864 began to contribute both criticism and tales to magazines.

In 1869, and then in 1872-74, he paid visits to Europe and began his first novel, Roderick Hudson. Late in 1875 he settled in Paris, where he met Turgenev, Flaubert, and Zola, and wrote The American (1877). In December 1876 he moved to London, where two years later he achieved international fame with Daisy Miller. Other famous works include Washington Square (1880), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Princess Casamassima (1886), The Aspern Papers (1888), The Turn of the Screw (1898), and three large novels of the new century, The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903) and The Golden Bowl (1904). In 1905 he revisited the United States and wrote The American Scene (1907).

During his career he also wrote many works of criticism and travel. Although old and ailing, he threw himself into war work in 1914, and in 1915, a few months before his death, he became a British subject. In 1916 King George V conferred the Order of Merit on him. He died in London in February 1916.

For the first time in 30 years, the Master's complete stories are again available--in a handsome, authoritative collector's edition

With this fifth and final volume of The Library of America's historic new edition, Henry James's world-famous stories are again available in their entirety.

Complete Stories 1864-1874 brings together his first 24 published stories, 13 never collected by James. Here are the first explorations of some of James's most significant themes: the force of social convention and the compromises it demands; the complex and often ambiguous encounter between Europe and America; the energies of human passion measured against the rigors of artistic discipline. Encompassing a wide range of subjects, settings, and formal techniques, these stories show the young James exploring contemporary events, as in three stories that treat the effects of the Civil War on civilians, and exhibiting his famous psychological acuity, as in "Guest's Confession," where the ferociously comic portrayal of an arrogant businessman hints at the narcissism and sadism that motivate him. Early examples of James's lifelong fascination with art and artists include "A Landscape Painter," which explores a young painter's distorted attraction to a family living in a desolate coastal town, and "The Madonna of the Future," where an aging artist avoids the inevitable unveiling of his "masterpiece." Adumbrating later triumphs, and compelling in their own right, the stories in this volume reveal an accomplished young talent mastering the art of the short story.