Notebooks of Henry James
The Notebooks of Henry James are private notes made by the Anglo-American novelist and critic. Usually the notes concern ideas for possible or ongoing fictions, but there are occasional personal notes, as well.
The Notebooks weren't published until 1947, when they appeared in a heavily annotated edition compiled by F.O. Matthiessen and Kenneth B. Murdock. The editors pointed out notebook entries that eventually turned into finished works by James, and then went beyond that simple editorial function to discuss and evaluate the works themselves.
Some objected to such critical commentary, while others accepted it as the editors' opinion and nothing more. In 1986 Leon Edel and Lyall Powers published another edition of the Notebooks that eliminated critical commentary on James' finished works, and added substantial new material from other, less formal notebooks kept by James. The new edition also cleared up some references to various people James mentioned in the Notebooks.
For those interested in the original planning of fictional narratives, the Notebooks are of substantial interest. They show James thinking through various possibilities for character and plot development in his fictions, as well as their overall structure and length.
Occasionally the Notebooks are leavened with personal pep-talks by James to himself. A famous example is his brief but emotional note after the failure of his play, Guy Domville. The later Edel-Powers edition included many more personal notes. Though sometimes trivial, this additional material gave some insight into James' everyday schedule, his wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and even his financial affairs.
References
- The Complete Notebooks of Henry James edited by Leon Edel and Lyall Powers (New York: Oxford University Press 2005) ISBN 0195037820
- The Notebooks of Henry James edited by F.O. Matthiessen and Kenneth Murdock (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press 1981) ISBN 0226511049