Is anyone familiar enough with Henry James's late fiction to know whether it'd be better to start with The Ambassadors or The Wings of The Dove?
just read them in order. fuckin christ
Depends on what you mean by "better":
-Chronologically, Ambassadors was "written"/dictated before Wings but published after.
-Ambassadors is an easier read and shorter.
-In the New York Edition, James himself put Wings before Ambassadors.
>>8071442
Well, I believe he wrote The Ambassadors first, but published it after The Wings of the Dove. I assume you're arguing that I should read The Ambassadors first, then. Thank you for your input!
>>8071442
Why on Earth does chronology matter?
It doesn't matter what order you read novels. Just let this meme for already.
>>8071471
Thanks for this. I'll go with The Ambassadors. I meant "better" in terms of the better entry point into his late fiction. If The Ambassadors is easier, that's the one I'd like to go with. I ultimately plan on reading the three of them.
>>8071482
If you haven't read any of the late fiction, I'd recommend reading the stories he wrote in 1898 and after, when he began dictating and his style changed for the last time: Paste, In the Cage, Tree of Knowledge are a good sampling.
>>8071525
Great, thanks for the advice.
