James, Henry

Henry James was an American author born in New York to a wealthy, intellectual family of Irish and Scottish origin. His father was a religious scholar, strongly influenced by Swedenborg and modern ideas about children’s education, which he claimed should be guided by their increasing curiosity about the world around them. As a result, James and his brother, William James – who became a successful psychologist and philosopher – were sent to Europe where they also attended schools in France, Germany and Switzerland. Henry James read law for a period of his life, but he left university in order to dedicate his life to writing. During his frequent visits to Europe he befriended some of the great European authors, including Ivan Turgenev and Gustave Flaubert, and later Joseph Conrad and others. He moved to England in 1876, having purchase Lamb House farm in Rye, Sussex. He lived there on and off until his death.