Henry James (1843-1916), born in New York City, was the son of noted religious philosopher Henry James, Sr., and brother of eminent psychologist and philosopher William James. He spent his early life in America and studied in Geneva, London and Paris during his adolescence to gain the worldly experience so prized by his father. He lived in Newport, went briefly to Harvard Law School, and in 1864 began to contribute both criticism and tales to magazines. He went on to publish beloved novels such as Daisy Miller (1878), Washington Square (1880), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Princess Casamassima (1886), and The Turn of the Screw (1898), in addition to three large novels of the new century, The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903) and The Golden Bowl (1904).

Leo Bersani, volume editor, is professor emeritus of French at the University of California, Berkeley. His works include Marcel Proust: The Fictions of Life and of Art; A Future for Astyanax: Character and Desire in Literature; The Culture of Redemption; and Homos.