Henry James and the Problem of Robert Browning, and: Heroic Commitment in Richardson, Eliot, and James, and: Henry James and the Darkest Abyss of Romance, and: Henry James: A Life (review)
tion her long study of James's passionate involvement in the visual arts. Using the conceit of James's fiction as a princely gallery, a museum of references and allusions to painting, sculpture, architecture, and interior decor, Tintner conducts us through the novels and stories, showing us the objets d'art that fascinated him, remarking on how these artworks function in the stories, and illustrating their grandeur by presenting exactly one hundred black-and-white illustrationsÂ—ranging from Etruscan and classical artifacts through Renaissance painting and statuary to the landscapes and portraits of contemporaries like Sargent, La Farge, Rossetti, and Hendrik Andersen. The emphasis here is on the exhibition and description of the artistic objects themselves, the intrinsic pleasure they gave to James, as a preliminary to any consideration of their aesthetic function in the texts in which they appear. Tintner's critical observations are neither obtrusive nor compelling, and the organization of the book may seem problematic to those who wish a chronological account of James's discovery and rediscovery of the art he incorporates into his work or to those who wish a chronological treatment of the novels and stories. But this is asking too much. We must be content to let Tintner be our guide, to move us back and forth among the stories, if we wish to understand the impact of DorÃ©'s book illustrations or the influence of Delacroix on the perception of the writer. It is sufficient to say that Timer's task is admirably fulfilled: she makes us see what James saw. This is therefore a book that any serious student of James's work will want to own.