The characters

There were so many real-life figures who made cameo appearances in the book. Since you did some research on these, were there any that were particularly notable or interesting?

The books

I think the only Henry James works I've read are "The Turn of the Screw" and "The Aspern Papers," but it was still fascinating to read about the supposed inspirations for his work during this time period. Did any particularly strike you as interesting? Did it start to sound as though he never had any original ideas since he seemed to be copying all his characters and situations from real life?

The women

There were a series of women in James's life -- especially his sister, Minny Temple, Constance Fenimore Woolson -- who have a tremendous influence on his life and then meet with tragedy. And in each case, he seems to have failed them in some way that may have contributed to their deaths. What do you make of this?

Henry James

What did you think of how Coibin portrayed Henry James? Did it jibe with what you already knew/thought about him? What did you think of how he hinted at James's (probable) closeted sexuality?

Next pick

"The Master" by Colm Toibin

In January 1895 Henry James anticipates the opening of his first play, Guy Domville, in London. The production fails, and he returns, chastened and humiliated, to his writing desk. The result is a string of masterpieces, but they are produced at a high personal cost. In The Master Colm Toibin captures the exquisite anguish of a man who circulated in the grand parlours and palazzos of Europe, who was astonishingly vibrant and alive in his art, and yet whose attempts at intimacy inevitably failed him and those he tried to love. It is a powerful account of the hazards of putting the life of the mind before affairs of the heart.