He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism , and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language.
He was the son of Henry James Sr. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as " The Jolly Corner ". James published articles and books of criticism, travel , biography, autobiography, and plays.
Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in , a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in , , and His father was intelligent and steadfastly congenial.
He was a lecturer and philosopher who had inherited independent means from his father, an Albany banker and investor. Mary came from a wealthy family long settled in New York City. Her sister Katherine lived with her adult family for an extended period of time. Henry Jr. His younger sister was Alice. Both of his parents were of Irish and Scottish descent.
