Queer Impressions : Henry James' Art of Fiction

Beginning with "The Portrait of a Lady", this book explores the fiction of Henry James and his development of a unique form of realism.

It follows the Paterian thread, leading to 'The Author of "Beltraffio"' and Theophile Gauthier, thereby establishing an important connection with French culture.

Drawing on James's famous analogy between the art of fiction and the art of the painter, the book explores a possible link to the Impressionist painters associated with the literary circle Aemile Zola dominated.

It then turns to "A New England Winter", a tale about an American Impressionist painter, and finds traces leading back to James's "initiation premiere".

The book closes with an exploration of the possible sources of Kate Croy's "unspeakable" father in "The Wings of the Dove" and proposes a possible intertext, one that provides direct insight into the Victorian closet.