The Reception of Henry James in Europe (review)
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The depth and breadth of the reception of Henry James in advertising, film and television, the classroom, the scholarly community, and among other fiction writers in North America and the United Kingdom since Hound and Horn 7 (1934), at least, are not news. At the same time, The Reception of Henry James in Europe, which demonstrates clearly that James has been actively received in Europe during this period, is probably not so well known and thus generates discussion. As an important part of that discussion, this volume adds significant detail to the “broad transnational picture” (260) of Henry James in the past and suggests some outlines to come. It also helps to explain why some of the best work in James studies is now being done by scholars outside the United States, Canada, and the U.K.
Annick Duperray brings together essays from seventeen established and younger Jamesians from across Europe, who take up many crucial aspects of the reception [End Page 301] of James’s writing. Three other contributors are from the U.K. and one is from the U.S. Thus Duperray summarizes the aims of the volume, which “examines the ways in which . . . [James has] been translated, published, distributed, read, reviewed and discussed on the continent of Europe. In doing so, it throws light not only on specific strands of intellectual and cultural history but also on the processes involved in the dissemination of ideas and texts” (viii).
Most of the essays follow a similar format by surveying relevant translations and translators, M.A. theses, Ph.D. dissertations, important reviewers, cultural and literary exchanges (such as F. O. Matthiessen’s visit to Charles University in Prague in 1947), pedagogical traditions, and similarities between the Jamesian style and that of particular European writers. Especially interesting to me were the open and frank discussions (short though they had to be) of the relation of politics and government to the promotion or suppression of James studies. Philip Horne notes in his essay on James in European cinema that the presence of James illustrates that his “cultural stock continue[s] to be high” (260–61). Just how high that stock has risen can be estimated more precisely when universities and governments discourage or prevent citizens from reading his work and also when popular culture encourages it.
Taken together the essays account for some of the richness of James scholarship both of yesterday and today. Jean Bessière and Miceala Symington describe James’s reception in France. Sergio Perosa expertly details James’s Italian translations. Do-natella Izzo traces with a subtle and steady hand James studies in Italy. Madeleine Danova maps the Bulgarian reception of James. Erik S. Roraback writes on the status of James in the Czech and Slovak lands. Miroslava Buchholtz deftly assays James’s Polish translators. Mihály Szegedy-Maszák concisely summarizes the James reception in Hungary. Irina Burlui-Wahrig gives a careful overview of the history of James studies in Romania. Andreea Ionescu insightfully addresses translations of James into Romanian. Tamara L. Seletrina brings readers up to date regarding James in Russia. Maria Antonia Álavarez Calleja attentively covers work on James in Spain. Eleftheria Arapoglou describes the extent of James studies in Greece. Hannu K. Riikonen writes on the reception of James in the Nordic countries and especially Finland. Denis Tredy offers a thoughtful essay on Henry James in Spanish film.
As for scholars from the U.K., Angus Wrenn writes on Paul Bourget and James, and also on James and Proust; Jeremy Tambling on Henry James and European and American opera; and Philip Horne on James’s “presence” in European cinema. Finally, George Monteiro (U.S.) writes on the reception of James in Portugal. In addition, it is well worth mentioning that the “Timeline: European Reception of Henry James, 1875–2005” is superb. The equally excellent “Bibliography” includes Horne’s “A Filmography: European Film and Television Versions of Henry James,” which serves as an important supplement to J. Sarah Koch’s “A Henry James...
