Abstract

Proposing a new approach to Jamesian aesthetics, Daniel Hannah examines the complicated relationship between Henry James's impressionism and his handling of 'the public.' In readings of 'The Art of Fiction,' What Maisie Knew, The Wings of the Dove and The American Scene, among other works, Hannah shows James continually returning to the impression as a site for exploiting, resisting and re-imagining a perceived breakdown between the private and the public.