
Delicate Pursuit
Discretion in Henry James and Edith Wharton
Jessica Levine(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 3. September 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
250 pages
978-0-415-86497-8 (ISBN)
Description
Delicate Pursuit explores the way in which Henry James and Edith Wharton treated subject matter that was considered controversial by American publishers at the turn of the century. In their treatment of risque topics, James and Wharton pursued discretion, the key concept of this study, in order to avoid censorship. Discretion marks not only the author's relationship to their subject matter but also the behavior of the characters in the fiction.
This study takes into particular account the influence of the French literary tradition on these two authors. At the crossroads of the new freedom of expression opened up by French realism and the persisting puritanical standards of their American audiences, James and Wharton sough safe ways to address adult sexuality, and the French theme of adulterous love in particular.
This study takes into particular account the influence of the French literary tradition on these two authors. At the crossroads of the new freedom of expression opened up by French realism and the persisting puritanical standards of their American audiences, James and Wharton sough safe ways to address adult sexuality, and the French theme of adulterous love in particular.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
368 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-415-86497-8 (9780415864978)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/2013
Routledge
€77.99
Available for download

E-Book
01/2013
Routledge
€77.99
Available for download

Book
08/2002
1st Edition
Routledge
€207.70
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Jessica Levine
Content
Introduction The Age of Discretion; Part 1 Censorship/Self-Censorship in James and Wharton; Chapter 1 Early James; Chapter 2 "The Old Maid" in the 1920s Marketplace; Part 2 French Classicism and the Discreet Imagination; Chapter 3 "Madame de Mauves" as James's La Princesse de Cleves; Chapter 4 Classical Heroines and Voyeurism in The Reef; Part 3 Displacements of the Adultery Plot; Chapter 5 Handling the "Adulterine Element" in The Ambassadors; Chapter 6 The Age of Innocence and the European Novel of Adultery; epilogue The End of the Age of Discretion;