Painting the Novel: The Fine Art of Fiction in Henry James's Prefaces
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A Collection of Henry James Prefaces
"The beautiful gift of the Prefaces is this: in their documentation of perpetual artistic striving they lucidly illustrate the lack of perfection this side of heaven; but in the same breath they remind us there is, in life lived with intensity and life observed with acuity, an artfulness of life that at least parallels the beatific vision . . . And thus the art of fiction proves its moral importance. In light of this it is no wonder that James took his avocation as a 'painter of life' so seriously. All aspiring writers would do well to emulate his example; and in a world where illusion and virtual experience continue to pass for, and even increasingly take the place of, human life lived in connection with other humans, we might all live life better if we allowed ourselves to be changed by frequent walks alongside this great painter. For if it is in part by images or fancies that we live, James will teach us how to purify the picture."
—From the Introduction by Angela Cybulski, M.A.
"The beautiful gift of the Prefaces is this: in their documentation of perpetual artistic striving they lucidly illustrate the lack of perfection this side of heaven; but in the same breath they remind us there is, in life lived with intensity and life observed with acuity, an artfulness of life that at least parallels the beatific vision . . . And thus the art of fiction proves its moral importance. In light of this it is no wonder that James took his avocation as a 'painter of life' so seriously. All aspiring writers would do well to emulate his example; and in a world where illusion and virtual experience continue to pass for, and even increasingly take the place of, human life lived in connection with other humans, we might all live life better if we allowed ourselves to be changed by frequent walks alongside this great painter. For if it is in part by images or fancies that we live, James will teach us how to purify the picture."
—From the Introduction by Angela Cybulski, M.A.