Product Description
The impassioned relationship between Anais Nin and Henry Miller is further explored in this exchange of letters, written over a period of twenty-some years. Here is one of the richest and most intimate correspondences in literary history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS
thank you, this book is in great condition and im loving the book. thank you again!

Unable to continue.
After reading Stuhlmann's poignant introduction, it was impossible for me to read any further. Stuhlman included a few lines of the correspondence between Henry Miller and Anais Nin. After reading just these few lines and seeing the depth of love between these two people, I felt that reading their letters would be like taking a photograph that steals the soul of the subject.

Maybe later I will be able to read their letters, but not now.

("No, if I have not written about Louveciennes it is only because I am not writing history, I am making it. I am so aware of the fateful, destined character of this Louveciennes...What I was thinking tonight is that Louveciennes becomes fixed historically in the biographical record of my life, for from Louveciennes dates the most important epoch of my life." -- Henry Miller.We all have a Louveciennes. Mine was Pateley Bridge.)

Henry Miller
Big fan of these two, but more of a Henry Miller fan personally. The letters bring Henry Miller out of his fiction/novels and bring him into the realm where Nin was in writing her Diaries. Good for that reason, two lovers but volatile ones. Testing sexual boundaries is a touchy thing, after all.

Yes! Ah, ah, yes!
Forget Nin's works of fiction, the journals, letters, and life are truly worth experiencing over and over again for their honesty, passion, and viewing the internal turned external for our benefit. Everyone knows of Miller's and Nin's relationhip, through "Henryand June" if anything, but it is through this work that we see them less as romantic figures andmore as humans capable of the idiocy, devotion, and prolongation of things we should all end and just don't for whatever reason. This is a great buy if you are a lover a letters. Reading "Fire" is a must, however.

Spying In The House of Love
Like many others, I have been fascinated with and frustrated by Anais Nin for many years, since reading the first volume of her expurgated diary in 1977.

This volume of letters enables the reader who has already read other versions of the Nin-Miller story to form additional conclusions about what might actually have happened. Because the letters were sent into the possession of others, they were less subject to the constant revision and reinvention that bedevils all attempts to determine objective facts about the mercurial Nin.

If you are not already an amateur historian of literary trends of the 1930's, fear not. The letters are worth reading as an introduction to Anais Nin and Henry Miller as well, for they depict a real-life romance conducted by two who absolutely relished the game and were highly articulate in dramatically different ways. ... Read more

Product Description
Beautiful Hennry Miller book. A "must have" for Henry Miller fans. Unique and intellegent. ... Read more

Product Description
The tale of Daisy's irruption into staid European society enjoyed, as did Daisy herself, a succès de scandale; and it has remained one of Jamess most popular short stories. Like the others collected here--'Pandora,' 'The Patagonia,' and 'Four Meetings'-- it describes a confrontation between different values in a changing world. Is the new independent American girl enchanting in her spontaneity, alarming in her unpredictability, or merely vulnerable in her ignorance of social codes? Hung about with make admirers who seek, uncertainly, to grasp the new phenomenon, Daisy marches on undiscourageable, to her triumphant--or tragic--destiny.

This volume contains prefaces by Henry James, a chronology of his life, and editor's notes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Modern Surveillance Cameras ...
... have nothing over Henry James! Whatever his many biographers discover about his mundane corporeal existence, James's novels reveal him best, as an inveterate observer - his own words! - a chronic emotional voyeur, always in and never of society, a one-way looking glass. It made him the great writer he was, though one wouldn't want to BE him. "Well," as God said to Satan, "keeping watch on humans is a dirty job, but somebody has to do it."

The four long stories in this Oxford Clssic edition were not originally published together. "Daisy Miller" appeared in 1878, "Pandora" in 1884, "Patagonia" in 1888. The fourth piece, "Four Meetings", was one of James's first, written before 1877. They are a natural assembly, nevertheless, effectively versions of the same story.

DAISY MILLER
"They're very ignorant -- very innocent only, and utterly uncivilized. Depend on it they're not 'bad.'"
"They're hopelessly vulgar," said Mrs. Costello. "Whether being hopelessly vulgar is being 'bad' is a questions for the metaphysicians. They're bad enough to blush for, at any rate; and for this short life that's quite enough."

Winterbourne, the first speaker above, is an American of twenty-seven who has lived most of his life in Europe, specifically in Geneva, where he is either a career student or simply an ornamental male presence, depending on the reporter. If 'earning a living' is of any concern to him, it plays no part in his demeanor in this narrative. Mrs. Costello is his wealthy aunt (a dowager?), who 'commands' his proper familial attentions at various resorts and in Rome several weeks a year. She is the very voice of propriety and discretion -- a snooty old biddy, if you will -- while he is a dilettante, a poseur, a prig, a veritable Henry James in short. "They" are the Millers - mother, daughter, and son - sent to inspect Europe and report back on its cultural progress by their filthy rich pater familias Cyrus Miller, of Schenectady, New York. Winterbourne first meets Daisy Miller while visiting his Aunt at Vevey, in Switzerland. He is entranced both by her beauty and by her bizarre ignorance of and/or indifference to the social codes of the Old World. Winterbourne and his Aunt are ludicrous snobs and ditherers; it's important to grasp that they are objects of satire as thoroughly as the Millers, the prototypical "ugly Americans" of touristic prominence all over Europe then and now. In fact, everyone in this novella comes in for a share of deliciously condescending satire, most pointedly James himself in the guise of Winterbourne. That's one of the redeeming qualities of Henry James, his ability to perceive and portray his own uselessness as a mere onlooker at life.

"Daisy Miller" is a gem, an 80-page masterpiece of snarky ambivalence. When I read it first, long ago in college, I probably took Winterbourne seriously; after all, the tale is told from his point of view. But taking himself or his fictional avatars seriously was a fault Henry James never committed. A longer exposure to James's self-observation, such as his later novels require, can challenge a reader's patience; there's only so much most of us want to care for such meticulous ambiguity. But "Daisy Miller" and "Pandora" are eminently enjoyable.

For a man and writer whose sexuality was so peculiarly repressed, James has made his irrepressible American girl Daisy Miller quite a luscious minx. Poor Winterbourne, stiff and epicene, can't keep his eyes off her. In the end, however, his fascination amounts merely to a kind of obsessive observation, and that's the core of the story, the voyeurism which underlies Henry James's literary genius. Nevertheless, Daisy is a brilliant 'study' of the American personality that Europeans have, then and now, found utterly appalling, naive and gauche ... and insidiously alluring.

PANDORA
Written six years after Daisy Miller, "Pandora" is a tongue-in-ear sequel, or perhaps a da capo aria. The characters have different names and play their roles with different outcomes, but James plainly intended the second story to complement the first. In fact, the earlier story is explicitly referenced as `a fiction to read to prepare for America.' "Pandora" begins on a ship crossing from Europe to New York. A young German diplomat, en route to a posting in Washington DC, assumes Winterbourne'James's role as "observer". There's a good deal of fun to be had with putting a precise Teutonic prig in James's skin, and James exploits all of it. The "Daisy" slot in the cast goes to "Pandora", less visually delectable perhaps but a good deal more personally functional. Pandora is on her way to becoming "the new woman," that is, the woman who conquers society merely by force of personality and physical charm, without the advantages of breeding. Our German observer is even less able to communicate his `interest' to Pandora than Winterborne was to Daisy; the most he can do is cogitate about the risk he runs, through his observation, of actually becoming susceptible. The reader will have no reason to fear for him in that manner.

PATAGONIA...
... is also a shipboard tale, with many of the same elements of social misconstruction as the two oolder stories. In it, however, the "observer" is also the first-person narrator, an older and more desexualized James, not so much fascinated by the "new woman" character as by his own obsession with observation. He's a gossip and a meddler, and comes to rue both roles. can we assert that Henry James modeled the famous Uncertainty Principle of physics in social intercourse? The end-game of every character in this and other Jamesian plots is disrupted by the impact of being observed.

Henry James straddled the world of 19th C class consciousness and 20th C class unconsciousness marvelously. Simultaneously the most conservative and the most prophetic of novelists, his women characters are easily the most persuasive and the most intriguing in all American literature. I have the feeling that James would not be at all surprised by the manners of social behavior in the USA in 2010. Daisy and Pandora were halfway here. Neither would he be any more comfortable in our `rec rooms' than he was in the drawing rooms of his own era. Really, I'm afraid he'd find us rather disappointing to observe. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

Readable but not Henry's best work...
This book is a good introduction to Henry's writing.Though if you've read his better stuff ala Black Spring The Tropics, like me, you're probably going to be at least a bit disappointed and want to hurry through it instead of savor his writing like usual.

a prelude to the tropics
a prelude to te tropic novels. a journey to the buildup to the better books afterwards

"The Master" at work...
Miller is undeniably one of the literary giants. This is a wonderful and enlightening insight into his sourjorn to that height. It's far from perfect, but to any hardcore Miller fan it will be a treat. They will get a real sense of "the master" chipping away at the almost singular stone that would forever be his muse.

A variation on a theme
Crazy Cock is Henry Miller's third full length novel and it tells the tale of the triangle between Henry, June and Mara Andrews (aka Jean Kronski). The novel is not very well written, filled with pedantic, prolix andbaroque passages, as Miller struggles mightily to find his voice. Millerfans will find this work quite interesting, as it is another variation onThe Rosy Crucifixion. However, this book is definately not a good place tostart your journey through the works of Henry Miller, as there are manybetter places to begin (Tropic of Cancer, Air Conditioned Nightmare) yourjourney.

Essential reading to study Miller's development
I am glad "Crazy Cock" was printed, because now it is possiblefor all of us to know what it takes to make a work of art -- that is a lotof hard work.I recommend reading "Sexus", or "Tropic ofCancer" before reading Crazy Cock, since the book itself does notstand up as a work of art. Crazy Cock is a failure as literature, but it isworth the effort to read through it if one has a creative mind which needsinspiration. The work does show Miller's desperate struggle to find avoice, and what is more inspiring is the fact that he found it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Assasins
I find Rimbaud very interesting, and Miller is one of my favorite writers, but Miller seems to overgush about Rimbaud.Well, nothing is perfect.

A Time to read Miller
Henry Miller is one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century -and this amazing biography/review/homage to Rimbaud should be read by anyone who cares about literature and life.

Wonderful
This book isn't only for lovers of Rimbaud and/or Henry Miller, it's for anyone that is interested in writing, the life of a writer, and simply wonderful postulations. I read this book about 3 years ago and it still inspires me.

A long and expensive blog entry
I bought this book because I'm a Rimbaud fan. Somehow, H. Miller wrote like a blogger would talk in-depth about someone great. That's all. Then I lost the book. I did not even bother to look for it.

I think this book is something you can show-off on your bookshelf but not really enjoy.

The best book on Rimbaud in the english language
It's true, Henry Miller was no Rimbaud, but maybe for that very reason he spent much of his life grappling with Rimbaud. This book, written later in Miller's life, has something forced about it, as if Miller realized this was a book he had to write but still didn't feel up to doing Rimbaud justice. Still, at times it reaches a pitch of passionate appreciation that transcends criticism or explanation, and shows that, though he couldn't quite put it in words, Miller's soul felt a deep and abiding debt to the great Rimbaud. Miller was no Rimbaud, but he's as close in spirit and intensity as this nation has produced. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

hamlet
This edition of theHamlet letters is a pirateedition as is that of capra press from the late 1980s. The copyright is held by Carrefour archives and a new edition is planned. there are many other carrefour Presstitles which deal with hamlet letters in some way. If yourequire furtherdetails contact me karlorend@yahoo.com ... Read more

Product Description
Henry Miller's collaboration with the Obelisk press in the 1930s produced three phenomenal works still much-loved to this day. The groundbreaking Tropic of Cancer published by Jack Kahane in 1934 after Anais Nin helped cover costs, its followup Tropic of Capricorn, finally printed in 1939, and Black Spring, a collection of vignettes and tales from 1936. These three works, later republished by the Olympia Press in Paris announced the arrival of a bold, pugilistic, voice on the literary scene, one whose artistic roar echoes to this day. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

one of the most amazing book of 20 century
if you want to know what's freedom in all ways, you get to read the obelisk trilogy, a book that talk about the life of henry miller and all his friends and what they have to leave on the road for be artists,

Now you get the chance to read the enter trilogy in one book

Let's take the wild side of life (paris 1930)

Get The Revised Edition
Took a chance on the ebook, as the title is ridiculously cheap.

Message at the front says "Revised, March 2005"--so if you're getting it from a marketplace seller or something, be sure they have the right version.

I can remember first picking up a paperbound trilogy by Mr. Miller some 20 years, an old Grove PB from the '60s.Loved it, and it keeps speaking to me to this very day.

Four stars because the text is marked up in the French manner, and it can be a little hard to deal with all the angle quotes and such.

Did buy the paperback as well, and love carrying all three around with me.

Wonderful Read--Publisher needs a copyeditor
The collection of three of Miller's greatest works in volume looked too good to be true.It was.Miller's great, brusque voice is here, but the production quality of the volume is very low.The text contains far too many errors, as if it were transcribed with no proofread prior to press.Buy another edition from a more reputable company. ... Read more

Product Description
Henry Miller's Rosy Crucifixion, his second major trilogy, took more than 10 years for the author to complete. Beginning in 1949 with Sexus, a work so controversial all of Paris was abuzz with L'Affaire Miller, (and publisher Maurice Girodias saw himself threatened with jail), following in 1952 with Plexus, and finally concluding with 1959's Nexus, the three works are a dazzling array of scenes, sexual encounters and ideas, covering Miller's final days in NY, his relationship with June Miller and her lover, his take on the arts, his favorite writers, his thoughts, his insights, his days and his nights, finally ending with a glorious farewell to the life he'd known and an anticipation of the life he would lead. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Review
The book arrived on time and in the described conditions. I don't think it was accurately described since I thought I was purchasing the 3 parts of the trilogy and not just one.

Kindle Edition is full of typos
First, the 1 star is not because of the book itself. The Rosy Crucifixion is one of my favorite books of all time. I've read the trilogy many times, particularly Plexus. In fact, when I got my Kindle DX, this is the first book I purchased even though I have the individual volumes on my bookshelf. I wanted to have it with me where ever I went.

What a disappointment then to see the total lack of care that went into the proofing of this edition. We are not talking about the occasional typo. We are talking about misspellings, typos, punctuation errors on nearly every page, sometimes 4 or 5 to a page. It is unreal. Is this what I can expect from the "kindle" editions in the future? If so, I may have to think about another e-reader. For shame.

Great, great book, disappointing edition
Preparing to move abroad where Henry Miller is still banned, I thought I could save on shipping and some shelf space by purchasing the three volumes of "The Rosy Crucifixion" printed in this single edition. Unfortunately, the book is awkwardly over-sized and looks like a textbook. A cursory perusal found several typos. I ended up giving it away and shipping the separate volumes instead.

Fonts are a little small
I don't even know if all three books were combined together before.The text quality from this publisher seems to be in decent shape, but Miller's second trilogy was over a million words, and things are a bit... scrunched.

Might be a good deal for a college student, but my eyes aren't quite what they used to be.The ebook helps a lot, 'cause you can enlarge the text on screen.

Otherwise, it's a chronicle of Henry Miller's final days in NY before he began his legendary trip to Paris, and that last goodbye, written when the author was past 60 still sings to me as perhaps no other scribe can

Three stars for the little letters; five for the books themselves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Henry Miller Reader
Edited by Lawerence Durrell, The Henry Miller Reader encapsulates some of the very best of Miller's writings. It includes sections from the Tropicbooks, Black Spring, and Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch. Ihave the 1956 New Directions edition of the book, and I don't know whetherit has been re-edited since that point, but any erotic, or sexual contenthad to be strained out for the censors. What is left is pure genius. Thereis a wonderful section on Alfred Perles...otherwise known as"Joey," to those familar with Miller's work. His insights on thewritings of Anais Nin hold a certain poignancy in light of their twentyyear relationship which both writers had to withold from their readers; Ms.Nin was married still to Hugh Guiller. I would highly recommend this bookbe purchased along with The Tropic of Cancer, or any other of his works. ... Read more

Product Description

Henry Miller described himself as a confused, negligent, reckless, lusty, obscene, boisterous, thoughtful, scrupulous, lying, diabolically truthful man...filled with wisdom and nonsense.

Customer Reviews (2)

Miller Is A Pathetic Old Man
This collection of letters makes Henry Miller look like a pathetic old geezer. Miller, who if you read multiple biographic works on him, never was much of a "real person", but some kind of morphic creature who would become fascinated with something for a while & his entire existence would be geared towards that thing. Sometimes it was UFOs, sometimes the idea of what he thought China was....seemingly anything and everything, just so long as Miller could run away & hide from being an actual individual. During the part of his life covering these letters, he was in his "Japanese phase". Hoki Miller was an attractive woman who was a cheesy lounge singer & wannabe actress working at a Los Angeles Japanese resteraunt. Miller fell in love with some image he concocted & Hoki saw him for the patsy he was. All this woman did was tease & lead on Miller, and like a fool, he went right along. She never gave him the sexual play he so longed for, but he bought her a new white Jaguar that she quickly smashed up. Miller kept tossing money at her, and even went to Japan with her to try to use his fame there to promote Hoki The Hack's failing acting career. The letters in this collection are no literary masterpieces, and would only be of intrest to hardcore Miller fans or maybe somebody looking for a laugh at a rich & famous old man's expense. If you're not really interested in Miller's personal life, I'd suggest spending your money on something else.

Amazing Collections Of Letters!
This is a great collection of letters that will give great insight to Henry Miller's fans. The letters follow this tumultuous relationship & show Henry Miller at his most childish and pathetic. Hoki was a scam artistextraordinaire & Henry went along for the ride, while paying for thecar, the insurance, gas, food along the way, etc. This is a must read forany Henry Miller fan. Others will find it kind of pointlessly pitiful. ... Read more

Product Description
Kindle edition of James' classic novella with an active table of contents.

The story portrays the courtship of the beautiful American girl Daisy Miller by Winterbourne, a more sophisticated compatriot of hers. His pursuit of her is hampered by her own flirtatiousness, which is frowned upon by the other expatriates they meet in Switzerland and Italy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (57)

great short read
i'm a huge fan of Henry James and this novel is one of my favorites. it's a short easy read - great for a weekend trip.

An American Flirt
Daisy Miller by Henry James(complete and unabridged version)

Daisy Miller is meant to be read outside in the summertime amongst the buzzing of bees, twittering of birds, and distant laughter of people enjoying the day. If you happen to be living in Minnesota or any nearby states, I suggest waiting until August when the temperatures have risen to the 90 degree mark and wander out to Lake Calhoun or the Como Conservatory by the lily pad gardens.

American flirts, European monuments, scoundrels, and high society infiltrate the pages of this short book (the copy I have is 83 pages long), but the language is thick with description like a Jane Austin novel. Henry James definitely writes a novel to be lingered over.

"She paused again for an instant; she was looking at Winterbourne with all her prettiness in her lively eyes and in her light, slightly monotonous smile. "I have always had," she said, "a great deal of gentlemen's society." Poor Winterbourne was amused, perplexed, and decidedly charmed.
-page 13

The novel features a well-off young man called Winterbourne and a flirtatious girl called Daisy Miller. Winterbourne is definitely a flirt himself, since he seems to vie for Miss Miller's affection and he wants to rescue her from a life she seems to like just fine. He also is hinted to be having an affair with an older lady.

"He was some seven-and-twenty years of age; when his friends spoke of him, they usually said that he was at Geneva, "studying."... What I should say is, simply, that when certain persons spoke of him they affirmed that the reason of his spending so much time at Geneva was that he was extremely devoted to a lady who lived there - a foreign lady - a person older than himself."
-pages 2-3

In fact, Winterbourne and Miss Miller are both Americans living abroad, but Winterbourne has kept with the rules of society and Miss Miller has not. She is written to be brash, loud, and scandalously American, but she is also accepting of everyone and hurt and confused at high societies harsh judgments of her.

" "You are old enough to be more reasonable. You are old enough, dear Miss Miller, to be talked about." Daisy looked at Mrs. Walker, smiling intensely. "Talked about? What do you mean!" "Come into my carriage and I will tell you." Daisy turned her quickened glance again from one of the gentlemen beside her to the other. ... "I don't think I want to know what you mean," said Daisy presently. "I don't think I should like it." "
-page 55

Daisy Miller is definitely a book to get lost in on a lazy summer day. The end may seem abrupt, and it is, but life is full of the unplanned and unexpected. Daisy Miller makes us long to live our lives just as full; listening to beautiful music, meeting interesting people, strolling the streets of Europe, and even visiting the Colosseum by moonlight.

"An outrage on American girlhood"
"Daisy Miller" was the first book that I read by Henry James, many years ago as a college freshman, and with the guidance of an excellent English instructor. She helped me over the complicated language, "convoluted" I wrote in one of my Blue Books used for the essays we had to write for the weekly examinations on our readings for the past week.

Although I enjoyed the assignment, I had also taken a course in speed reading -- one of my most valuable courses ever -- and I found that I could not read James for pleasure at 800 words a minute -- so I basically forgot about him for 40 years or more. Recently, I've started reading aloud to my wife, remembered this book with real fondness, and read it to her at a more sedate 250 words a minute. At that pace, the complexity of James's style actually flows beautifully -- neither reader nor listener had any trouble following the story, and the richness and "flow" of James's style was quite beautiful.

An early warning captures the theme of this work beautifully, one of the best such passages I can remember in any novel: "I haven't the least idea what such young ladies expect a man to do. But I really think that you had better not meddle with little American girls that are uncultivated, as you call them. You have lived too long out of the country. You will be sure to make some great mistake."

There are other quotable passages in this book; this one is my personal favorite: "'They are hopelessly vulgar,' said Mrs. Costello. 'Whether or no being hopelessly vulgar is being 'bad' is a question for the metaphysicians. They are bad enough to dislike, at any rate; and for this short life that is quite enough.'"

This Kindle version reads very well technically, but as the publisher indicates there is no material other than the novella itself. James wrote it originally in 1878 and then re-wrote it for the 1909 definitive New York edition of all of his works; "Daisy Miller" appeared with extensive revisions.

The Penguin Classics paperback edition of 1986, ISBN 0-14-04362-0, edited with an introduction by Geoffrey Moore, notes by Patricia Clark deals with the editorial modifications made by James. Geoffry Moore points out: "Although James conscientiously attempted to supply for the definitive edition the psychological depth and nuances which he felt were lacking in the 1878 version, he succeeded only in burying the unassuming simplicity of his early style under the mannerisms of the Master."

Robert C. Ross2010

American Folly
"Daisy Miller" was one of Henry James' earliest novels and is considered to be his most popular work.At only sixty-four pages in length, this novella is a quick read that from a surface view, may seem to lack depth.However, in "Daisy Miller" James would explore themes that recurred in his later works, especially the contrast between American and European societal mores.

The action begins in Vevay, Switzerland, where Frederick Winterbourne happens to meet the title character, an American who is travelling with her mother and younger brother.He is immediately swept away by her beauty and is rather blinded to her indiscretions, such as being too friendly with their courier and being openly flirtatious.Winterbourne's aunt will have nothing to do with the family, but that does not stop her nephew from pursuing her.When the action moves to Rome, Winterbourne once again tries to stake a claim upon Daisy's affections, only to discover that she is not welcome in polite society since she has been going around unchaperoned with an Italian man who can only be after her money.Winterbourne, along with others, tries to let Daisy know how wrong her actions are, but she is headstrong and adamant that no harm will befall her.

As with most works by Henry James a tragedy befalls one of the main characters."Daisy Miller" is a brief, intimate sketch of the ruination of innocence.There is little separation between events, which can quicken the pace of the novella, but also can be a distracting textual feature for readers.The story seems to begin and end in the middle of the action which allows the characters to live on after James has finished relating their story to his readers.

The way we were...?
This is one of Henry James's earliest works, a charming novella of high-society manners and attitudes. Some reviewers focused on the differences between American and European social standards, but that seemed to be only a sub-set of issues; the main theme involved the eternal struggle of free-spirited youth, abutting the structures of a well-entrenched establishment. For the timid, the book is a wonderful introduction to James, who, as one reviewer put it, is famous for his dense, convoluted prose. I found only one sentence that would hint of the later James, a sentence replete with classic James qualifications: "At the risk of exciting a somewhat derisive smile on the reader's part, I may affirm that with regard to the women who had hitherto interested him it very often seemed to Winterbourne among the possibilities that, given certain contingencies, he should be afraid- literally afraid- of these ladies."

The central character, the young American woman, with the title's name is judged by some, as James dryly asserts, to possess a "...certain laxity of deportment." By today's standards she would be judged to have an excessive amount, by either European or American measures. In an exchange with Winterbourne, who is an American contemporary infatuated with her, but whom she judges "stiff," and who has charged her with being a "flirt," which is not appropriate for "young unmarried women" she retorts:"It seems to me much more proper in young unmarried women than in old married ones." It is an attitude which results in her rejection by the society matrons of the time.

The entire novella involves characters from the very elite, a tiny flake of humanity, that move from hotel to hotel, the ultimate in the leisure class unconcerned by financial matters. No, almost certainly this is not the manners and morals of our own ancestors, who were scraping by in the factory and the fields to make this lifestyle of the modern day "sun-kings" possible. Still, it is this "flake" that draws the disproportionate attention of the rest of us, just like the entire sections of the news devoted to the lifestyles of the famous in Hollywood.

Judging the book by James's standards, in its time and place, I would still only give it only a 4-star. How could Daisy's younger brother, who moves in these elite hotels with her family, be wandering unsupervised, and be judged an "urchin," while losing most of his teeth? Would the strains of malaria extant in Europe at the time have dispatched the patient that quickly? And "opacity" would be an understatement in James's treatment of the relationship between Winterbourne and Mrs. Walker, and in turn, the latter's concern with Daisy's "deportment."

Still, the book might rate a plus on the "4" for the Rumsfeldian lines from Daisy's younger brother, Randolph: "My father ain't in Europe; my father's in a better place than Europe... My father's in Schenectady."

... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

psychoanalysis of henry miller
a little turgid but still a good bio of an interesting character. interesting to watch someone on the cutting edge become so quickly politically incorrect during his lifetime

"sick of gathering experiences"-- balanced Miller biography that should appeal even if you don't like Miller.
At a certain moment in my life, it seemed that many many writers I admired were talking about or recommending Miller. I decided to give his books a try. The first thing that I ever read was Gliding into the Everglades, a little book of essays. I actually liked it, and felt encouraged to pick up the Tropics books. Which I loathed.

Don't get me wrong, I had taken my history of literature courses. I understood the boost that Miller gave to personal narrative and the influence that he undoubtedly had shown. I just didn't want to read anything else by him.

And there I remained-- until about a year ago. On a whim, I saw the Ferguson biography and decided to buy it. I was curious if it would make me look at Miller differently.

The answer is: not so much. It *has* influenced me to go back to his essays and give The Air-Conditioned Nightmare a try. However, it did not improve my opinion of his novels, nor did it make me like him at all as a person. It doesn't help that both June and Anais Nin were the kinds of women that I deeply dislike. (Actually, as a writer, Nin is one of the authors I actually like much less than Miller. I typically love diaries of every kind, but I find her self-indulgent crap completely unreadable.) Hystrionic, manipulative and not very clever-- Miller seemed to choose women to turn into muses that were the very opposite of the type I wanted to read about. So in that sense, it was an explanation (of sorts) for my gut level reaction to his work.

Ferguson is a good biographer. I thought that he maintained an excellent balance between detail and readability. He seems fair and respectful to Miller without being adoring. His prose is skilled without being obtrusive. Based on this book, I would be interested to read his biography of Knut Hamsun. Recommended.

The best objective HenryMiller bigraphy out there!
Robert Ferguson has written a spectacular biography on legendary writer Henry Miller. Ferguson, unlike other Miller biographers (such as Mary Dearborne, Alfred Perles), relates the details of Miller's life & workswithout personal bias or an angle. Although a very tough task, Ferguson isable to distinguish reality as it happened from reality as reported byHenry Miller (which at times is filled with bald-faced lies, such asclaiming to have met Emma Goldman although she was not allowed in the citywhen Miller claims to have met her) most of the time. While some fans ofMiller will not like the work because it "spoils the mystique of alegend", others will, I'm sure, agree that this is a thorough, fairand accurate biography about a man who tried very hard to erase the trackshe made in life with all new marks created by semi-autobiographicalromances. And dang good ones at that! ... Read more

Product Description
Tired of his demeaning job and tempestuous marriage, Dion Moloch, an anti-Semite living in Brooklyn during the 1920s, escapes to the streets and battles against a world that threatens to destroy him.12,500 first printing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The first Miller disappointment
I found a used copy of this book in a local store. One of the very few Miller's books I did not own, I was eager to read it. It is not often, actually almost unprecedented, that I give up on a book after a few chapters. In case of Miller, this is the first for me. I have been an avid Henry Miller reader for the past fifteen plus years and read anything by him I could lay my hands on. Most of his books even five or six times and I consider Miller to be the main reason why I started writing myself. However, after a few chapters, I could not connect with the story, I could not "live" with the narrator and his voice. It is Miller's writing, and therefore there are gems within the text, but unlike his other works, the narration here appears artificial, almost pushed out with a great effort. I miss the fluidity with which Miller wrote, I miss the rambling, I miss the metaphors. Unfortunately, at this time, I will not continue reading this work. Perhaps, in the future, a time may come when I will try again, but there are many, many more Miller's books I'd rather re-read. It almost hurts me to say I didn't like a book by Miller, especially since his writing has provided me with many sleepless nights when, thinking of his words, I was unable to shut an eye. 99% of his other works are a true inspiration to me and I have the utmost respect for this writer. This one, for me, has missed the mark.

A writer waiting to happen
While one may see in this book many of the characteristics, themes and incidents of Miller's writing that would one day cause him to be recognized a true original, if not truely great, I doubt that this is a book thatanyone other than a die hard Miller fan would like. It is early stuff forMiller, who was just learning his own voice as a writer, and lacks theexuberance and passion of his later work. It probably will find its placemostly as an item to be studied by Miller scholars but I can't imagineactually reading it for pleasure when one could turn to the later and muchbetter books like the 'Tropic' books and Sexus, Nexus and Plexus.

Some ofus think that Miller is a great writer, but he had not yet become one whenhe wrote this.

The Reigning God of Angry Young Men!
Although, Mr. Miller, was not young when he wrote this novel, he was without a doubt, still in his full mental faculties. I love this man. When you can't sleep at night, or want something to make you laugh, or cry (at times). The works of Henr Miller fits just what you are looking for at all times. Every concievable emotion is in every book by him. Every soul should at least read one of his novels before they die! This man was a truly unrecognized genius and it is a shame that we live in this modern age and still can't give some credit to a man who revolutionized literature for an entire generation ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Another version of a seemingly enigmatic life
People generally speak of this bio when talking about "the good ones" on Henry Miller. I disagree. While in-depth, many facts listed are incorrect because of a lack of checking (although many checkers wereused) with factual records. Dearborne's biggest angle seems to be to showthat Miller was always a closet homosexual & June was a lesbian junkie.While interesting to fans of Miller, a much better written, more accuratebiography is available from Robert Ferguson & I would highly recommendreading his version over Dearborne's if you were to only read one Millerbio. ... Read more