亨利•詹姆斯（Henry James,1843—1916）

十九世紀繼霍桑、麥爾維爾之後最偉大的美國小說傢，也是美國乃至世界文學史上的大文豪。齣生在紐約的亨利•詹姆斯長期旅居歐洲，對十九世紀末美國和歐洲的上層生活有細緻入微的觀察，因此其作品無一不涉及美國與歐洲在文化上的差異與衝突。代錶作有長篇小說《一位女士的畫像》《鴿翼》《使節》《金鉢記》，中篇小說《黛西•米勒》《阿斯彭文稿》《螺絲在擰緊》等。此外還寫瞭許多文學評論、遊記、傳記和劇本。他擅長描繪內心意識的微妙變化，被認為是心理分析小說的開創者之一，是二十世紀小說意識流寫作技巧的先驅，對二十世紀崛起的現代派及後現代派文學有著非常巨大的影響。

Henry James' highly charged study of adultery, jealousy and possession, "The Golden Bowl" is edited with an introduction and notes by Ruth Bernard Yeazell in "Penguin Classics". Maggie Verver, a young American heiress, and her widowed father Adam, a billionaire collector of objets d'art, lead a life of wealth and refinement in London. They are both getting married: Maggie to Prince Amerigo, an impoverished Italian aristocrat, and Adam to the beautiful but penniless Charlotte Stant, a friend of his daughter. But both father and daughter are unaware that their new conquests share a secret - one for which all concerned must pay the price. Henry James' late, great work both continues and challenges his theme of confrontation between American innocence and European experience. This edition of "The Golden Bowl" contains a chronology, suggested further reading, a glossary, notes and an introduction by Ruth Bernard Yeazall discussing James' original conception of the novel and later changes made to its structure and characters. Henry James (1843-1916) son of a prominent theologian, and brother to the philosopher William James, was one of the most celebrated novelists of the fin-de-siecle. In addition to many short stories, plays, books of criticism, biography and autobiography, and much travel writing, he wrote some twenty novels. His novella "Daisy Miller" (1878) established him as a literary figure on both sides of the Atlantic, and his other novels in "Penguin Classics" include "Washington Square" (1880), "The Portrait of a Lady" (1881), "What Maisie Knew" (1897), "The Awkward Age" (1899), "The Wings of the Dove" (1902) and "The Ambassadors" (1903). If you enjoyed "The Golden Bowl", you might like Theodor Fontaine's "Effi Briest", also available in "Penguin Classics". "A wonderfully luminous drama". (Gore Vidal). "One of the greatest pieces of fiction ever written". (A.N. Wilson).