“The Lesson of the Master”, Henry James's enigmatic tale of marriage and the artist, appeared in the

on 16 July and 15 August 1888; its first book publication was in a revised form in the 1892 collection, itself entitled

. James revised the story again for inclusion in Volume XV of the New York Edition of his novels and tales (1907–1909), a volume which, as James notes in its Preface, comprises pieces dealing “all with the literary life”.

Arriving for a weekend party at Summersoft, a charming country-house near London, an ambitious young writer called Paul Overt is thrilled to learn that the celebrated novelist Henry St George might be amongst the other guests. The two men have never met, and Paul is keen to observe the “high literary

1532 words

Citation: Chilton, Neil. "The Lesson of the Master". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 April 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=373, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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