Henry James: The Legend of the Master

Simon Nowell-Smith: The Legend of the Master (1947)


At the Grave of Henry James

The snow, less intransigeant than their marble,
Has left the defence of whiteness to these tombs;
For all the pools at my feet
Accommodate blue, now, and echo such clouds as occur
To the sky, and whatever bird or mourner the passing
Moment remarks they repeat.

"A great and talkative man," W. H. Auden called him in this magnificent elegy, first published in Horizon in 1941. I too - to descend from the sublime to the ridiculous - have already written a short post on Henry James, some years ago, but solely in connection with his prowess as a writer of ghost stories.

His importance to Auden appears to have been as a kind of final court of literary appeal:

All will be judged. Master of nuance and scruple,
Pray for me and for all writers living or dead;
Because there are many whose works
Are in better taste than their lives, because there is no end
To the vanity of our calling: make intercession
For the treason of all clerks.

Others, too (Graham Greene among them), found his example strangely inspiring in the 1940s, as the brute beasts trampled the earth, and utter darkness threatened to swallow up the exquisite niceties of perception for which James stood for, both as man and writer.

Do I find him easy to read? Not really, no - with the exception of such fine early works as "Daisy Miller" or The American. I've never undertaken the task of reading a James novel without a certain trepidation. And there are still great gaps in my knowledge of his œuvre.

Paradoxically, though, I find him very easy to read about. I've worked my way through Leon Edel's magisterial, multi-volumed biography a couple of times now, and find it, alas, more enthralling than any of the Master's own books.

Of course it's only one among many biographies. And - just to make things simpler - it exists in a number of diverse forms. There's the original, five-volume edition, in which it first appeared between 1953 and 1972:

Leon Edel: Henry James (1978)

1. Edel, Leon. Henry James. The Untried Years: 1843-1870. 1953. New York: Avon Books, 1978.


2. Edel, Leon. Henry James. The Conquest of London: 1870-1881. 1962. New York: Avon Books, 1978.


3. Edel, Leon. Henry James. The Middle Years: 1882-1895. 1962. New York: Avon Books, 1978.


4. Edel, Leon. Henry James. The Treacherous Years: 1895-1901. 1969. New York: Avon Books, 1978.


5. Edel, Leon. Henry James. The Master: 1901-1916. 1972. New York: Avon Books, 1978.

Then there's the unabridged, but slightly reorganised British paperback edition:

Leon Edel: The Life of Henry James (1977)

1. Edel, Leon. The Life of Henry James. Vol. 1: 1843-89. 1953, 1962, 1963. Peregrine Books. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1977.


2. Edel, Leon. The Life of Henry James. Vol. 2. 1963, 1969, 1972. Peregrine Books. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1977.

And then, finally, there's the one-volume abridgement of 1985, which unfortunately contains some extra material, and therefore needs to be acquired by the fastidious collector (though it turned out to consist mostly of some rather tenuous speculations about some possible new sources for "The Turn of the Screw"):

Leon Edel: Henry James: A Life (1978)

1. Edel, Leon. Henry James: A Life. 1953, 1962, 1963, 1969, 1972 & 1977. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1985.

That really is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Jamesiana, though. There's the disreputably entertaining work by Simon Nowell-Smith pictured at the head of this post. And, if it's the Master's domestic arrangements that preoccupy you, there's the almost equally interesting work below by H. Montgomery Hyde:

H. Montgomery Hyde: Henry James at Home (1978)

1. Nowell-Smith, Simon. The Legend of the Master: Henry James as Others Saw Him. 1947. Oxford Paperbacks. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985.


2. Hyde, H. Montgomery. Henry James at Home. London: Methuen, 1969.

Then there are the curious events of the so-called 'Year of Henry James' - 2004 - when a whole series of novelists seem to have decided simultaneously to make him the star of their books. David Lodge and Colm Tóibín are the most prominent among them, but Lodge lists a number of others in his book of essays on the subject:

David Lodge: Author, Author (2004)

1. Lodge, David. Author, Author: A Novel. Secker & Warburg. London: Random House, 2004.


2. Lodge, David. The Year of Henry James or, Timing is All: The Story of a Novel. With Other Essays on the Genesis, Composition and Reception of Literary Fiction. Harvill Secker. London: Random House, 2006.


3. Tóibín, Colm. The Master: A Novel. Scribner. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.

Colm Tóibín: The Master (2004)

What other ways are there to fritter away your time in the beguiling province of Henry-Jamesia without venturing to scale the daunting mountain ranges of his late prose? I can think of a few answers.

First of all, there are a number of other books by Leon Edel to sample - not to mention an intriguing book on 'The Turn of the Screw' by Auckland University lecturer Dr Elizabeth Sheppard. But the real motherlode lies in the books by and about the rest of the family: not just his polymathic elder brother William, but also his fiercely intelligent 'professional invalid' of a sister, Alice:

Leon Edel, ed.: The Diary of Alice James (1964)

1. Edel, Leon. The Psychological Novel, 1900-1950. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1955.


2. Edel, Leon. Bloomsbury: A House of Lions. 1979. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1981.


3. Edel, Leon, ed. The Diary of Alice James. 1964. Introduction by Linda Simon. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1999.


4. Hardwick, Elizabeth, ed. The Selected Letters of William James. The Great Letters Series. New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1961.


5. James, William. The Principles of Psychology. Great Books of the Western World, 53. Ed. Robert Maynard Hutchins. Chicago: William Benton, Publisher / Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1952.


6. James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. 1901-2. Introduction by Arthur Darby Nock. 1955. The Fontana Library: Theology & Philosophy. London: Collins, 1968.


7. Lewis, R. W. B. The Jameses: A Family Narrative. 1991. An Anchor Book. New York: Doubleday, 1993.


8. Sheppard, E. A. Henry James and The Turn of the Screw. Auckland: Auckland University Press / Oxford University Press, 1974.


9. Yeazell, Ruth Bernard, ed. The Death and Letters of Alice James. 1981. Boston: Exact Change Books, 1997.

Sooner or later, of course, you'll have to bite the bullet and just start reading The Portrait of a Lady, or some other reasonably approachable early or mid-period novel, but even that can be put off for some considerable time if you choose to go via the distinctly less daunting letters-and-notebooks route:

Lyall H. Powers, ed.: Henry James and Edith Wharton (1990)

1. Matthiessen, F. O., & Kenneth B. Murdock, ed. The Notebooks of Henry James. 1947. A Galaxy Book GB 61. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1961.


2. Edel, Leon, ed. The Selected Letters of Henry James. New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1955.


3. James, Henry. Letters I: 1843-1875. Ed. Leon Edel. London: Macmillan London Limited, 1974.


4. James, Henry. Letters II: 1875-1883. Ed. Leon Edel. 1975. London: Macmillan London Limited, 1978.


5. James, Henry. Letters III: 1883-1895. Ed. Leon Edel. 1980. London: Macmillan London Limited, 1981.


6. James, Henry. Letters IV: 1895-1916. Ed. Leon Edel. The Belknap Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts & London: Harvard University Press, 1984.


7. James, Henry. Selected Letters. Ed. Leon Edel. The Belknap Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts & London: Harvard University Press, 1987.


8. Edel, Leon, & Lyall H. Powers, ed. The Complete Notebooks of Henry James. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1987.


9. Horne, Philip, ed. Henry James: A Life in Letters. Viking Penguin. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1999.


10. Powers, Lyall H, ed. Henry James and Edith Wharton. Letters: 1900-1915. London: George Weidenfeld & Nicolson Limited, 1990.


11. Smith, Janet Adam, ed. Henry James and Robert Louis Stevenson: A Record of Friendship and Criticism. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1948.

Once again (as usual), it's Leon Edel who leads the charge, with his four-volume edition of the Letters, as well as a couple of one-volume selected editions. But, as you can see from the list above, there are also number of correspondences with particular friends and fellow authors to be savoured - not to mention one of those 'Life in Letters' compilations which offer such a good way of selling essentially the same material twice.

All of which brings me to what is (ostensibly, at least) the actual subject of this post: the decision to complete my set of the Henry James volumes included in the Library of America. If you've read my recent piece on the subject, you'll know more than enough already about my obsession with this black-backed series of classics.

Their Henry James collection includes the complete novels (in six volumes), the complete stories (in five volumes), the collected travel writings (in two volumes), the collected literary criticism (in two volumes), and the complete autobiographical writings (in one volume): 16 volumes in all. When I receive the last couple of volumes of novels, I'll be proud to say that I have them all:

Henry James

1. James, Henry. Novels 1871-1880: Watch and Ward / Roderick Hudson / The American / The Europeans / Confidence. Ed. William T. Stafford. The Library of America, 13. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1983.


2. James, Henry. Novels 1881-1886: Washington Square / The Portrait of a Lady / The Bostonians. Ed. William T. Stafford. The Library of America, 29. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1985.


3. James, Henry. Novels 1886-1890: The Princess Casamassima / The Reverberator / The Tragic Muse. Ed. Daniel Mark Fogel. The Library of America, 43. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1989.


4. James, Henry. Novels 1896-1899: The Other House / The Spoils of Poynton / What Maisie Knew / The Awkward Age. Ed. Myra Jehlen. The Library of America, 139. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2003.


5. James, Henry. Novels 1901-1902: The Sacred Fount / The Wings of the Dove. Ed. Leo Bersani. The Library of America, 162. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2006.


6. James, Henry. Novels 1903-1911: The Ambassadors / The Golden Bowl / The Outcry / Appendix: “The Married Son.” Ed. Ross Posnock. The Library of America, 215. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2011.


7. James, Henry. Complete Stories, Volume 1: 1864-1874. Ed. Jean Strouse. The Library of America, 111. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1999.


8. James, Henry. Complete Stories, Volume 2: 1874-1884. Ed. William L. Vance. The Library of America, 106. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1999.


9. James, Henry. Complete Stories, Volume 3: 1884-1891. Ed. Edward Said. The Library of America, 107. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1999.


10. James, Henry. Complete Stories, Volume 4: 1892-1898. Ed. David Bromwich and John Hollander. The Library of America, 82. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1996.


11. James, Henry. Complete Stories, Volume 5: 1898-1910. Ed. Denis Donoghue. The Library of America, 83. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1996.


12. James, Henry. Collected Travel Writings. Great Britain and America: English Hours; the American Scene; Other Travels. Ed. Richard Howard. The Library of America, 64. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1993.


13. James, Henry. Collected Travel Writings. The Continent: A Little Tour in France; Italian Hours; Other Travels. Ed. Richard Howard. The Library of America, 65. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1993.


14. James, Henry. Literary Criticism: Essays on Literature; American Writers; English Writers. Ed. Leon Edel & Mark Wilson. The Library of America, 22. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984.


15. James, Henry. Literary Criticism: French Writers; Other European Writers; The Prefaces to the New York Edition. Ed. Leon Edel & Mark Wilson. The Library of America, 23. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984.


16. James, Henry. Autobiographies: A Small Boy and Others / Notes of a Son and Brother / The Middle Years / Other Writings. 1913, 1914, 1917. Ed. Philip Horne. The Library of America, 274. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2016.

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Henry James: Autobiographies LOA N°274

Henry James: Novels 1903-1911 LOA N°215

Henry James: Novels 1901–1902 LOA N°162

Henry James: Novels 1896–1899 LOA N°139

 

Henry James: Complete Stories 1864–1874 LOA N°111

Henry James: Complete Stories 1884–1891 LOA N°107

Henry James: Complete Stories 1874–1884 LOA N°106

Henry James: Complete Stories 1898–1910 LOA N°83

Henry James: Complete Stories 1892–1898 LOA N°82

Henry James: Collected Travel Writings: The Continent LOA N°65

Henry James: Collected Travel Writings: Great Britain and America LOA N°64

Henry James: Novels 1886–1890 LOA N°43

Henry James: Novels 1881–1886 LOA N°29

Henry James: Literary Criticism: French Writers, Other European Writers, Prefaces to the New York Edition LOA N°23

Henry James: Literary Criticism: Essays on Literature, American Writers, English Writers LOA N°22 

 

  

Henry James: Novels 1871–1880 LOA N°13

•

James (according to Leon Edel, at any rate) had an obsession with collected editions. His aspiration, from the very beginning, was to create a kind of American Comédie humaine in the spirit of Balzac's monumentally comprehensive portrait of nineteenth-century France. The set of Balzac he himself read was in 23 volumes. Hence the 23 volumes he attempted to compress his works into for the late New York edition (1907-9) of his works.

Unfortunately it sprawled into 24 volumes instead, and eventually included two posthumous volumes as well, so it's safe to say that his long-meditated enterprise didn't go quite as planned.

What's more, it was a financial disaster. He'd rewritten, revised, and radically pruned his early fiction to fit the aesthetic dictates of his late style, and the result was hardly pleasing to fans of the works in their earlier form. The elaborate prefaces he wrote for each volume, though subsequently collected as a kind of treatise on the art of fiction, were also seen as somewhat excessive.

This - as he perceived it - ruin of his life's work drove him into a depression, and it wasn't really until the pressure of war work in 1914 awoke him from lethargy that he was able to recover the will to live, let alone to write.

When he died in 1916, he accordingly left an immense but disordered legacy. Above all, there's the problem of which texts to read: the original versions or the revised ones? Leon Edel, by and large, preferred the novels and stories as they first appeared, and he attempted to restore them to popular attention in the many, many collections of James's works he edited or oversaw.

The most prominent of these was probably his 12-volume set of the Master's complete short stories:

Leon Edel, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James (1962-64)

1. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 1: 1864-1868. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1962.


2. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 2: 1868-1872. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1962.


3. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 3: 1873-1875. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1962.


4. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 4: 1876-1882. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1962.


5. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 5: 1883-1884. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1963.


6. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 6: 1884-1888. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1963.


7. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 7: 1888-1891. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1963.


8. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 8: 1891-1892. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1963.


9. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 9: 1892-1898. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1964.


10. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 10: 1898-1899. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1964.


11. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 11: 1900-1903. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1964.


12. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James. Volume 12: 1903-1910. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1964.

Leon Edel, ed. The Complete Tales of Henry James (Vol 10: 1898-1899)

I wouldn't want you to walk away with the impression that the Library of America edition of James is in any way complete, however. Perish the thought! Conspicuous among the absences are James's last two novels, unfinished and posthumously published: The Ivory Tower and The Sense of the Past (consituting, respectively, the last two volumes of the New York edition).

Then there are the plays (available in another fine edition by Leon Edel).

Leon Edel, ed. The Complete Plays of Henry James (1949)

Then there's his one, full-length biography, William Wetmore Story and His Friends (1903):

Henry James: William Wetmore Story and His Friends (1903)

Of course, there are reasons for allowing at least some of these to sink into oblivion. The biography was a duty job: forced upon him as an obligation to some friends, and not written from the heart (he didn't even like the sculptor Story very much).

The plays, too, were a kind of slow-motion disaster which had occupied much of his time in the 1890s, and came very near to breaking his heart:

"I'm the last, My Lord, of the Domvilles," as the eponymous hero of his play Guy Domville intoned in its one, abortive production.

"And it's a bloody good thing y'are!" a rough voice shouted from the stalls.

What else? There are facsimile editions of his annotated copies of early novels intended as guides for his later revisions - there are reprints, selections, re-editions, in basically every series of modern classics known to man. Truly, once you start, there's no obvious end to the number of books you need to collect to see this strangest of beings, this - in many ways - most loveable of writers, whole.

As a teacher of creative writing, I often find myself quoting his precept for young writers: "Dramatise!"

Even more often, though, I think of his three rules for civilised conduct:

1. Be kind
2. Be kind
3. Be kind

John Singer Sargent: Henry James (1913)

Henry James
(1843-1916)

Novels:


1. James, Henry. Watch and Ward. 1871 & 1878. Introduction by Leon Edel. 1959. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1960.


2. James, Henry. The American: The Version of 1877 Revised in Autograph and Typescript for the New York Edition of 1907. Reproduced in Facsimile from the Original in the Houghton Library, Harvard University. Introduction by Rodney G. Dennis. Houghton Library Manuscript Facsimiles, 1. 1976. London: Scolar Press, 1978.


3. James, Henry. The Portrait of a Lady: An Authoritative Text / Henry James and the Novel / Reviews and Criticism. 1881. Ed. Robert D. Bamberg. A Norton Critical Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1975.


4. James, Henry. The Portrait of a Lady. 1881. Ed. Geoffrey Moore. 1984. Notes by Patricia Crick. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2003.


5. James, Henry. The Princess Casamassima. 1886. London: Heron Books / Macmillan & Co., n.d.


6. James, Henry. A London Life and The Reverberator. 1888 & 1908. Ed. Philip Horne. The World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.


7. James, Henry. The Tragic Muse. 1890. Penguin Modern Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1978.


8. James, Henry. The Other House. 1896. Introduction by Leon Edel. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1948.


9. James, Henry. The Spoils of Poynton. 1897. Penguin Modern Classics, 1922. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1963.


10. James, Henry. What Maisie Knew. 1897 & 1908. Ed. Douglas Jefferson & Douglas Grant. 1966. The World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980.


11. James, Henry. The Awkward Age. 1899. With the Author’s Preface. New York Edition, 1908. Penguin Modern Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1981.


12. James, Henry. The Sacred Fount. 1901. With an Introductory Essay by Leon Edel. 1953. A Black Cat Book. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1979.


13. James, Henry. The Wings of the Dove: An Authoritative Text / The Author and the Novel / Criticism. 1902 & 1909. Ed. J. Donald Crowley & Richard A. Hocks. A Norton Critical Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1978.


14. James, Henry. The Ambassadors: An Authoritative Text / The Author on the Novel / Criticism. 1903. Ed. S. P. Rosenbaum. A Norton Critical Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1964.


15. James, Henry. The Golden Bowl. 1904. With the Author’s Preface. Penguin Modern Classics, 2449. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1966.


16. James, Henry, with William Dean Howells, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Mary Heaton Vorse, Mary Stewart Cutting, Elizabeth Jordan, John Kendrick Bangs, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Edith Wyatt, Mary R. Shipman Andrews, Alice Brown & Henry Van Dyke. The Whole Family: A Novel by Twelve Authors. 1908. Introduction by Alfred Bendixen. New York: the Ungar Publishing Company, 1986.


17. James, Henry. The Outcry. Methuen's Colonial Library. London: Methuen & Co., Ltd., 1911.


18. James, Henry. The Outcry. 1911. Introduction by Jean Strouse. New York Review Books Classics. New York: The New York Review of Books, 2002.


19. James, Henry. The Ivory Tower. Preface by Percy Lubbock. 1917. With an Essay by Ezra Pound. 1954. Introduction by Alan Hollinghurst. New York Review Books Classics. New York: The New York Review of Books, 2004.


20. James, Henry. The Sense of the Past. The Novels and Tales of Henry James: New York Edition, Volume XXVI. Preface by Percy Lubbock. 1917. Classic Reprint Series. N.p.: Forgotten Books [www.forgottenbooks.org], 2010.

Stories:


21. Aziz, Maqbool, ed. The Tales of Henry James. Volume One, 1864-1869. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973.


22. James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw, The Aspern Papers and Other Stories. 1879-1910. Introduction by Michael Swan. Collins Classics. London: Collins, 1956.


23. James, Henry. Ghost Stories. Ed. Martin Scofield. Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 2001.

Plays:


24. Edel, Leon, ed. The Complete Plays of Henry James. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1949.


25. James, Henry. Guy Domville: A Play in Three Acts. With Comments by Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, Arnold Bennett. Preceded by Biographical Chapters, Henry James: The Dramatic Years. Ed. Leon Edel. 1960. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1961.


26. James, Henry. The Scenic Art: Notes on Acting and the Drama, 1872-1910. Ed. Allan Wade. Foreword by Leon Edel. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1949.

Travel:


27. Kaplan, Fred, ed. Travelling in Italy with Henry James: Essays. A John Curtis Book. London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1994.

Literary Criticism:


28. James, Henry. The Art of the Novel: Critical Prefaces. Introduction by Richard P. Blackmur. 1934. New York & London: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1947.


29. James, Henry. The House of Fiction: Essays on the Novel. Ed. Leon Edel. 1957. Mercury Books, 24. London: The Heinemann Group of Publishers, 1962.


30. James, Henry. Selected Literary Criticism. Ed. Morris Shapira. Preface by F. R. Leavis. 1963. A Peregrine Book Y73. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1968.

Biography & Autobiography:


31. James, Henry. William Wetmore Story and His Friends: From Letters, Diaries, and Recollections. In Two Volumes (Combined). 1903. London: Thames & Hudson, n.d.


32. James, Henry. Autobiography: A Small Boy and Others; Notes of a Son and Brother; The Middle Years. 1913, 1914, 1917. Ed. Frederick W. Dupree. London: W. H. Allen, 1956.

John Singer Sargent: Henry James (detail)

James Thin & the Library of America

James Thin Bookshop (Edinburgh, 1848-2002)

I first encountered the delights of James Thin's signature Bookshop on Edinburgh's South Bridge in 1981, five years before I went to study there. My father wanted to revisit his Scottish roots and do a bit of a European tour as well, and my sister and I decided to accompany my parents. My elder brothers, anticipating trouble, elected to stay at home. In some ways they may have made the right choice.

Despite the many perplexities associated with still travelling with one's family at the age of 18, I have to count one of indisputable triumphs of the trip a day spent wandering around Edinburgh. It was (and is) visually spectacular. But more than that, it seemed to make sense to me as a city, unlike such tangles of motorised mayhem as Rome or Paris - let alone London.

Strangely enough, the main thing I wanted to do there was to locate a copy of Ossian.

James Macpherson: The Works of Ossian (1765)

Why? you may ask. It's hard to say. I guess because I'd read so many allusions to it, without ever being able to locate a copy. It was (allegedly) Napoleon's favourite book, and there was a time when James Macpherson was one of the best-known and most successful authors in Europe.

In any case, I wanted to check it out for myself, and everyone had told me that this was the place to go.

How it looks today (2011)

Now things are different. Now there are many editions available, including the one below. But we live in an age when virtually anything in print is available through Amazon.com and other sites. That was not the case in 1981.

James Macpherson: The Poems of Ossian (1995)

• Macpherson, James. Poems of Ossian: A Facsimile of the 1805 Edition. Introduction by John MacQueen. 2 vols. Edinburgh: James Thin / The Mercat Press, 1971.


• Macpherson, James. The Poems of Ossian, with Dissertations on the Era and Poems of Ossian; and Dr. Blair’s Critical Dissertation. Edinburgh: John Grant, 1894.


• Macpherson, James. The Poems of Ossian. Ed. William Sharp. Edinburgh: John Grant, 1926.


• Macpherson, James. The Poems of Ossian, and Related Works. Ed. Howard Gaskill. Introduction by Fiona Stafford. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1996.

The first in the list above was the one I bought that day. It was not an easy task. I asked, first, at the front desk, was directed down to the basement, then up to the top floor, then down to the basement again. One volume was finally located up above, the other on another floor, but nevertheless I walked out with an odd facsimile edition of the 1805 text clasped tight in my hot little hands!

Yet this inefficiency did not put me off the place. I'd already had a chance on this trip to check out the exciting deeps of Foyle's Bookshop in London, but there was something in the light airiness of Edinburgh which seemed to me just right. I wanted to live there.

And so, in due course, I did. I went back in 1986 to study for my Doctorate in the English Department of the University of Edinburgh. And many things happened. I did, eventually, get my thesis written - an agonising experience which has stood me in good stead ever since when sympathising with others caught in the same trap.

National Library of Scotland

I spent many long hours in the city's libraries: the University Library most of all, I suppose, but also the weirdly arranged City Library, and - best of all - the National Library of Scotland (the former Advocate's Library), a copyright library with access to satellite repositories of books all over the city ...

And, of course, I found my way back to James Thin - as well as all the other bookshops, new and second-hand, in that city of books. But it was in James Thin that I first made acquaintance with the Library of America. It wasn't strictly relevant to my studies, I suppose. I was working on South America not North America (don't ask why a New Zealander should choose to go to Scotland in order to study books about South America - all I can say is that it seemed to make some precarious sense at the time, though less and less in retrospect).

The first volumes in the series were published in 1982, and Thin's must have ordered in a huge number of them, because when I arrived in the mid-1980s, they had a whole wall of them on sale for some small amount. Was it five pounds each? Something like that. Of course I wanted them all, but I tried to make judicious choices of the most indipensable classics: a complete Hawthorne in two volumes, a complete Poe in ditto, the two volumes of Melville then available, Parkman, Whitman, Stephen Crane ...

Library of America

I've been collecting them ever since. Thirty years on, I'm about to complete the set of Melville I started to assemble that day. Bibliomania is a long-drawn-out disease, which takes you to some pretty odd places. But there's a magic to American books which continues to obsess me.

They're now scattered in different places throughout the house, though. I used to have them all together in one long sequence till a friend told me he thought it looked pretentious. I suppose they do have the air of display books, rather than ones which one is in the habit of reading regularly, but actually nothing could be further from the truth. I read them all the time, and have found them ideal to take on long trips where one needs the assurance of lots of pages in one convenient compass.

Since those early days in Edinburgh, mind you, the series has branched out in many ways. It now includes SF writers such as Philip K. Dick, Ursula Le Guin and Kurt Vonnegut - H. P. Lovecraft is there, as well as many canonical twentieth century poets: Ashbery, Bishop, Merwin, Pound, and Stevens.

Edmund Wilson (1895-1972)

I think it's safe to say that Edmund Wilson's dream of a compendious series of American classics has now thoroughly vindicated itself. His works, too, have finally made the cut. It will continue to serve as a gateway rather than a full stop to the literature of the Americas, but it's hard to imagine its ever being superseded as a series. And, given the severely reduced nature of the critical apparatus in each book, it doesn't need to be re-edited every few decades, unlike its model, the frighteningly comprehensive French Bibliothèque de la Pléiade.

Here's a list of the 85 volumes in the now more than 300-strong series I myself have collected so far. it's arranged under authors, but - further down - I've included another chronological, last-to-first list, with pictures as well as links to each book.

•


Making Book (2014)

The Library of America
(1979-2023)
(listed alphabetically by authors):

Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918)


1. Adams, Henry. Novels / Mont Saint Michel / The Education. Democracy: An American Novel; Esther: A Novel; Mont Saint Michel and Chartres; the Education of Henry Adams; Poems. 1880, 1884, 1904, 1918. Ed. Earl N. Harbert. The Library of America, 14. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1983.


2. Adams, Henry. History of the United States of America During the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson, 1801-1809. 1889-91. Ed. Earl N. Harbert. The Library of America, 31. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1986.


3. Adams, Henry. History of the United States of America During the Administrations of James Madison, 1809-1817. 1889-91. Ed. Earl N. Harbert. The Library of America, 32. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1986.


American Poetry (19th & 20th Century)


4. American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century. Vol. 1: Philip Freneau to Walt Whitman. Ed. John Hollander. The Library of America, 66. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1993.


Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941)


5. Anderson, Sherwood. Collected Stories: Winesburg, Ohio / The Triumph of the Egg / Horses and Men / Death in the Woods / Uncollected Stories. Ed. Charles Baxter. The Library of America, 235. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2012.


John Ashbery (1927-2017)


6. Ashbery, John. Collected Poems: 1956-1987. Ed. Mark Ford. The Library of America, 187. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2008.


7. Ashbery, John. Collected Poems: 1991-2000. Ed. Mark Ford. The Library of America, 301. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2017.


Jean-Jacques Rabin [John James Audubon] (1785-1851)


8. Audubon, John James. Writings and Drawings. Ed. Christoph Irmscher. The Library of America, 113. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1999.


James Arthur Baldwin (1924-1987)


9. Baldwin, James. Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. The Library of America, 98. [‘Notes of a Native Son’, 1955; ‘Nobody Knows My Name,’ 1961; ‘The Fire Next Time’, 1963; ‘No Name in the Street’, 1972; ‘The Devil Finds Work’, 1976]. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1998.


10. Baldwin, James. Early Novels & Stories. Ed. Toni Morrison. The Library of America, 97. [‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’, 1953; ‘Giovanni's Room’, 1956; ‘Another Country’, 1962; ‘Going to Meet the Man’, 1965]. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1998.


11. Baldwin, James. Later Novels. Ed. Darrell Pinckney. The Library of America, 98. [‘Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone’, 1968; ‘If Beale Street Could Talk', 1974; ‘Just Above My Head’, 1979]. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2015.


Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979)


12. Bishop, Elizabeth. Poems, Prose and Letters. Ed. Robert Giroux & Lloyd Schwartz. The Library of America, 180. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2008.


Ray Douglas Bradbury (1920-2012)


13. Bradbury, Ray. Novels & Story Cycles. Ed. Jonathan R. Eller. The Library of America, 347. [‘The Martian Chronicles’, 1950; ‘Fahrenheit 451’, 1953; ‘Dandelion Wine’, 1957; ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’, 1962]. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2021.


14. Bradbury, Ray. The Illustrated Man, The October Country & Other Stories. Ed. Jonathan R. Eller. The Library of America, 360. 1951, 1955. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2022.


Joe Brainard (1942-1994)


15. The Collected Writings of Joe Brainard. Ed. Ron Padgett. Introduction by Paul Auster. A Special Publication of The Library of America. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2013.


Rachel Louise Carson (1907-1964)


16. Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring & Other Writings on the Environment. Ed. Sandra Steingraber. The Library of America, 307. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2018.


Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr. (1938-1988)


17. Carver, Raymond. Collected Stories. Ed. William L. Stull & Maureen P. Carroll. The Library of America, 195. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2009.


John William Cheever (1912-1982)


18. Cheever, John. Collected Stories and Other Writings. 1943, 1978. Ed. Blake Bailey. The Library of America, 188. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2009.


19. Cheever, John. Complete Novels: The Wapshot Chronicle / The Wapshot Scandal / Bullet Park / Falconer / Oh What a Paradise It Seems. 1957, 1964, 1969, 1977, 1982. Ed. Blake Bailey. The Library of America, 189. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2009.


James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)


20. Cooper, James Fenimore. The Leatherstocking Tales, vol. 1. Ed. Blake Nevius. The Library of America, 26. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1985.


21. Cooper, James Fenimore. The Leatherstocking Tales, vol. 2. Ed. Blake Nevius. The Library of America, 27. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1985.


Harold Hart Crane (1899-1932)


22. Crane, Hart. Complete Poems and Selected Letters. Ed. Langdon Hammer. The Library of America, 168. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2006.


Stephen Crane (1871-1900)


23. Crane, Stephen. Prose and Poetry: Maggie: a Girl of the Streets; The Red Badge of Courage; Stories, Sketches, and Journalism; Poetry. Ed. J. C. Levenson. The Library of America, 18. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984.


Philip Kindred Dick (1928-1982)


24. Dick, Philip K. Four Novels of the 1960s: The Man in the High Castle / The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch / Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? / Ubik. 1962, 1964, 1968, 1969. Ed. Jonathan Lethem. The Library of America, 173. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2007.


25. Dick, Philip K. Five Novels of the 1960s and 1970s: Martian Time Slip / Dr. Bloodmoney / Now Wait for Last Year / Flow My Tears the Policeman Said / A Scanner Darkly. 1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1977. Ed. Jonathan Lethem. The Library of America, 183. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2008.


26. Dick, Philip K. VALIS and Later Novels: A Maze of Death / VALIS / The Divine Invasion / The Transmigration of Timothy Archer. 1970, 1981, 1981, 1982. Ed. Jonathan Lethem. The Library of America, 193. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2009.


John Roderigo Dos Passos (1896-1970)


27. Dos Passos, John. U.S.A.: The 42nd Parallel / Nineteen Nineteen / The Big Money. Ed. Daniel Aaron & Townsend Ludington. The Library of America, 85. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1996.


William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963)


28. DuBois, W. E. B. The Souls of Black Folk. 1903. Ed. Nathan Huggins, 1986. Introduction by John Edgar Wideman. New York: Vintage Books / The Library of America, 1990.


Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)


29. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Collected Poems and Translations. Ed. Harold Bloom and Paul Kane. The Library of America, 70. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1994.


William Cuthbert Faulkner (1897-1962)


30. Faulkner, William. Novels 1926-1929: Soldiers’ Pay / Mosquitoes / Flags in the Dust (Sartoris) / The Sound and the Fury. 1926, 1927, 1929 & 1929. Ed. Joseph Blotner & Noel Polk. The Library of America, 164. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2006.


31. Faulkner, William. Novels 1930-1935: As I Lay Dying / Sanctuary / Light in August / Pylon. 1930, 1931, 1932 & 1935. Ed. Joseph Blotner & Noel Polk. The Library of America, 25. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1985.


32. Faulkner, William. Novels 1936-1940: Absalom, Absalom! / The Unvanquished / If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem (The Wild Palms) / The Hamlet. 1936, 1938, 1939 & 1940. Ed. Joseph Blotner & Noel Polk. The Library of America, 48. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1990.


33. Faulkner, William. Novels 1942-1954: Go Down, Moses / Intruder in the Dust / Requiem for a Nun / A Fable. 1942, 1948, 1951 & 1954. Ed. Joseph Blotner & Noel Polk. The Library of America, 73. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1994.


34. Faulkner, William. Novels 1957-1962: The Town / The Mansion / The Reivers. 1957, 1959 & 1962. Ed. Joseph Blotner & Noel Polk. The Library of America, 112. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1999.


Robert Lee Frost (1874-1963)


35. Frost, Robert. Collected Poems, Prose, & Plays: Complete Poems 1949; In the Clearing; Uncollected Poems; Plays; Lectures, Essays, Stories, and Letters. Ed. Richard Poirier & Mark Richardson. The Library of America, 81. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1995.


Hiram Ulysses [Ulysses S.] Grant (1822-1885)


36. Grant, Ulysses S. Personal Memoirs and Selected Letters. Ed. Mary Drake McFeeley & William S. McFeeley. The Library of America, 50. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1990.


Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894–1961)


37. Hammett, Dashiell. Complete Novels: Red Harvest; The Dain Curse; The Maltese Falcon; The Glass Key; The Thin Man. 1929, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1934. Ed. Steven Marcus. The Library of America, 110. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1999.


38. Hammett, Dashiell. Crime Stories and Other Writings. Ed. Steven Marcus. The Library of America, 125. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2001.


Harlem Renaissance Novels (1920s & 1930s)


39. Harlem Renaissance: Five Novels of the 1920s. ['Cane', by Jean Toomer (1923); 'Home to Harlem', Claude McKay (1928); 'Quicksand', Nella Larsen (1928); 'Plum Bun', Jessie Redmon Fauset (1928); 'The Blacker the Berry', Wallace Thurman (1929)]. Ed. Rafia Zafar. The Library of America, 217. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2011.


40. Harlem Renaissance: Four Novels of the 1930s. ['Not Without Laughter', Langston Hughes (1931); 'Black No More', George Schuyler (1931); 'The Conjure-Man Dies', Rudolph Fisher (1932); 'Black Thunder', Arna Bontemps (1936)]. Ed. Rafia Zafar. The Library of America, 218. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2011.


Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)


41. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Tales and Sketches. Ed. Roy Harvey Pearce. The Library of America, 2. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1982.


42. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Collected Novels: Fanshawe; The Scarlet Letter; The House of the Seven Gables; The Blithedale Romance; The Marble Faun. Ed. Millicent Bell. The Library of America, 10. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984.


William Dean Howells (1837-1920)


43. Howells, William Dean. Novels 1875-1886. Ed. Edwin M. Cady. The Library of America, 8. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1982.


Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)


44. Hurston, Zora Neale. Novels and Stories: Jonah’s Gourd Vine; Their Eyes Were Watching God; Moses, Man of the Mountain; Seraph on the Suwanee; Selected Stories. Ed. Cheryl A. Wall. The Library of America, 74. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1995.


45. Hurston, Zora Neale. Folklore, Memoirs, & Other Writings: Mules and Men; Tell My Horse; Dust Tracks on a Road; Selected Articles. Ed. Cheryl A. Wall. The Library of America, 75. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1995.


Washington Irving (1783-1859)


46. Irving, Washington. History, Tales, and Sketches: Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.; Salmagundi or The Whim-Whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. & Others; A History of New York, From the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty; The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Ed. James W. Tuttleton. 1802, 1807-08, 1809, 1819-20. The Library of America, 16. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1983.


47. Irving, Washington. Bracebridge Hall; Tales of a Traveller; The Alhambra. 1822, 1824, 1832. Ed. Andrew Myers. The Library of America, 52. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1991.


48. Irving, Washington. Three Western Narratives: A Tour on the Prairies; Astoria; The Adventures of Captain Bonneville. 1835, 1836, 1837. Ed. James P. Ronda. The Library of America, 146. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2004.


Shirley Jackson (1916-1965)


49. Jackson, Shirley. Novels and Stories: The Lottery / The Haunting of Hill House / We Have Always Lived in the Castle / Other Stories and Sketches. Ed. Joyce Carol Oates. The Library of America, 204. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2010.


50. Jackson, Shirley. Four Novels of the 1940s & 50s: The Road Through the Wall / Hangsaman / The Bird’s Nest / The Sundial. 1948, 1951, 1954, 1958. Ed. Ruth Franklin. The Library of America, 336. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2020.


Henry James (1843-1916)


51. James, Henry. Novels 1871-1880: Watch and Ward / Roderick Hudson / The American / The Europeans / Confidence. Ed. William T. Stafford. The Library of America, 13. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1983.


52. James, Henry. Novels 1881-1886: Washington Square / The Portrait of a Lady / The Bostonians. Ed. William T. Stafford. The Library of America, 29. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1985.


53. James, Henry. Novels 1886-1890: The Princess Casamassima / The Reverberator / The Tragic Muse. Ed. Daniel Mark Fogel. The Library of America, 43. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1989.


54. James, Henry. Novels 1896-1899: The Other House / The Spoils of Poynton / What Maisie Knew / The Awkward Age. Ed. Myra Jehlen. The Library of America, 139. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2003.


55. James, Henry. Novels 1901-1902: The Sacred Fount / The Wings of the Dove. Ed. Leo Bersani. The Library of America, 162. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2006.


56. James, Henry. Novels 1903-1911: The Ambassadors / The Golden Bowl / The Outcry / Appendix: “The Married Son.” Ed. Ross Posnock. The Library of America, 215. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2011.


57. James, Henry. Complete Stories, Volume 1: 1864-1874. Ed. Jean Strouse. The Library of America, 111. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1999.


58. James, Henry. Complete Stories, Volume 2: 1874-1884. Ed. William L. Vance. The Library of America, 106. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1999.


59. James, Henry. Complete Stories, Volume 3: 1884-1891. Ed. Edward Said. The Library of America, 107. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1999.


60. James, Henry. Complete Stories, Volume 4: 1892-1898. Ed. David Bromwich and John Hollander. The Library of America, 82. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1996.


61. James, Henry. Complete Stories, Volume 5: 1898-1910. Ed. Denis Donoghue. The Library of America, 83. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1996.


62. James, Henry. Collected Travel Writings. Great Britain and America: English Hours; the American Scene; Other Travels. Ed. Richard Howard. The Library of America, 64. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1993.


63. James, Henry. Collected Travel Writings. The Continent: A Little Tour in France; Italian Hours; Other Travels. Ed. Richard Howard. The Library of America, 65. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1993.


64. James, Henry. Literary Criticism: Essays on Literature; American Writers; English Writers. Ed. Leon Edel & Mark Wilson. The Library of America, 22. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984.


65. James, Henry. Literary Criticism: French Writers; Other European Writers; The Prefaces to the New York Edition. Ed. Leon Edel & Mark Wilson. The Library of America, 23. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984.


66. James, Henry. Autobiographies: A Small Boy and Others / Notes of a Son and Brother / The Middle Years / Other Writings. 1913, 1914, 1917. Ed. Philip Horne. The Library of America, 274. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2016.


Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)


67. Jefferson, Thomas. Writings. Ed. Merrill D. Peterson. The Library of America, 17. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984.


Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (1929-2018)


68. Le Guin, Ursula K. The Complete Orsinia: Malafrena; Stories and Songs. Ed. Brian Attebery. The Library of America, 281. 1979, 1976. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2016.


69. Le Guin, Ursula K. The Hainish Novels & Stories, vol. 1: Rocannon's World; Planet of Exile; City of Illusions; The Left Hand of Darkness; The Dispossessed; Stories. 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1974. Ed. Brian Attebery. The Library of America, 296. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2017.


70. Le Guin, Ursula K. The Hainish Novels & Stories, vol. 2: The Word for World is Forest; Five Ways to Forgiveness; The Telling; Stories. 1977, 1995, 2000. Ed. Brian Attebery. The Library of America, 297. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2017.


71. Le Guin, Ursula K. Always Coming Home: Author’s Expanded Edition. 1985. Ed. Brian Attebery. The Library of America, 315. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2019.


72. Le Guin, Ursula K. Annals of the Western Shore. Gifts; Voices; Powers. Ed. Brian Attebery. 2004, 2006, 2007. The Library of America, 335. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2020.


73. Le Guin, Ursula K. Collected Poems. Ed. Harold Bloom. The Library of America, 368. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2023.


Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)


74. Lincoln, Abraham. Speeches and Writings 1832-1858: Speeches, Letters and Miscellaneous Writings / The Lincoln-Douglas Debates. Ed. Don E. Fehrenbacher. 1989. The Library of America, 45. The Bicentennial Edition. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2009.


75. Lincoln, Abraham. Speeches and Writings 1859-1865: Speeches, Letters and Miscellaneous Writings / Presidential Messages and Proclamations. Ed. Don E. Fehrenbacher. 1989. The Library of America, 46. The Bicentennial Edition. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2009.


76. The Lincoln Anthology: Great Writers on His Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now. Ed. Harold Holzer. The Library of America, 192S. The Bicentennial Edition. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2009.


John [Jack] London (1876-1916)


77. London, Jack. Novels and Stories: The Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Sea-Wolf, Klondike and Other Stories. 1903, 1904, 1906. Ed. Donald Pizer. The Library of America, 6. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1982.


Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890–1937)


78. Lovecraft, H. P. Tales. Ed. Peter Straub. The Library of America, 155. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2005.


Carson McCullers (1917–1967)


79. McCullers, Carson. Complete Novels: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter; Reflections in a Golden Eye; The Ballad of the Sad Café; The Member of the Wedding; Clock Without Hands. 1940, 1941, 1946, 1951, 1961. Ed. Carlos L. Dews. The Library of America, 128. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2001.


80. McCullers, Carson. Complete Stories; The Member of the Wedding: A Play; The Sojourner; The Square Root of Wonderful; Essays, Poems & Autobiography. 1950, 1953, 1958. Ed. Carlos L. Dews. The Library of America, 287. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2017.


Herman Melville (1819-1891)


81. Melville, Herman. Typee, Omoo, Mardi. 1846, 1847, 1849. Ed. G. Thomas Tanselle. The Library of America, 1. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1982.


82. Melville, Herman. Redburn, White Jacket, Moby-Dick. 1849, 1850, 1851. Ed. G. Thomas Tanselle. The Library of America, 9. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1983.


83. Melville, Herman. Pierre, Israel Potter, The Piazza Tales, The Confidence-Man, Tales & Billy Budd. 1852, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1922 & 1924. Ed. Harrison Hayford. The Library of America, 24. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1985.


84. Melville, Herman. Complete Poems: Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War / Clarel / John Marr and Other Sailors / Timoleon / Posthumous & Unpublished. 1866, 1876, 1888 & 1891. Library of America Herman Melville Edition, 4. Ed. Hershel Parker. The Library of America, 320. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2019.


William Stanley Merwin (1927-2019)


85. Merwin, W. S. Collected Poems 1952-1993. Ed. J. D. McClatchy. The Library of America, 240. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2013.


86. Merwin, W. S. Collected Poems 1996-2011. Ed. J. D. McClatchy. The Library of America, 241. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2013.


Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (1899-1977)


87. Nabokov, Vladimir. Novels and Memoirs 1941-1951: The Real Life of Sebastian Knight / Bend Sinister / Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited. 1941, 1947, 1951. Ed. Brian Boyd. The Library of America, 87. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1996.


88. Nabokov, Vladimir. Novels 1955-1962: Lolita / Pnin / Pale Fire / Lolita: A Screenplay. 1955, 1957, 1962, 1974. Ed. Brian Boyd. The Library of America, 88. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1996.


89. Nabokov, Vladimir. Novels 1969-1974: Ada, or Ardor: a Family Chronicle / Transparent Things / Look at the Harlequins!. 1969, 1972, 1974. Ed. Brian Boyd. The Library of America, 89. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1996.


Mary Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964)


90. O’Connor, Flannery. Collected Works: Wise Blood; A Good Man is Hard to Find; The Violent Bear It Away; Everything That Rises Must Converge; Essays and Letters. Ed. Sally Fitzgerald. The Library of America, 39. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1988.


Francis Parkman (1823-1893)


91. Parkman, Francis. France and England in North America, vol. 1: The Pioneers of France in the New World; The Jesuits in North America in the Seventeenth Century; La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West; The Old Régime in Canada. 1865, 1867, 1869, 1874. Ed. David Levin. The Library of America, 11. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1983.


92. Parkman, Francis. France and England in North America, vol. 2: Count Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV; A Half Century of Conflict; Montcalm and Wolfe. 1877, 1892, 1884. Ed. David Levin. The Library of America, 12. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1983.


93. Parkman, Francis. The Oregon Trail / The Conspiracy of Pontiac. 1849, 1851. Ed. William R. Taylor. The Library of America, 53. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1991.


Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)


94. Poe, Edgar Allan. Poetry and Tales. Ed. Patrick F. Quinn. The Library of America, 19. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984.


95. Poe, Edgar Allan. Essays and Reviews. Ed. G. R. Thompson. The Library of America, 20. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984.


Charles Portis (1933–2020)


96. Portis, Charles. Collected Works: Norwood / True Grit / The Dog of the South / Masters of Atlantis / Gringos / Stories & Other Works. 1966, 1968, 1979, 1985, 1991. Ed. Jay Jennings. The Library of America, 369. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2023.


Dawn Powell (1896–1965)


97. Powell, Dawn. Novels 1944-1962: My Home is Far Away / The Locusts Have No King / The Wicked Pavilion / The Golden Spur. 1944, 1948, 1954, 1962. Ed. Tim Page. The Library of America, 127. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2001.


Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (1885-1972)


98. Pound, Ezra. Poems & Translations. Ed. Richard Sieburth. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2003.


Cornelius Ryan (1920-1974)


99. Ryan, Cornelius. The Longest Day / A Bridge Too Far / Other World War II Writings. 1959, 1974. Ed. Rick Atkinson. The Library of America, 318. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2019.


Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902-1991)


100. Singer, Isaac Bashevis. Collected Stories. One Night in Brazil to The Death of Methuselah: Old Love / The Collected Stories / The Image & Other Stories / Gifts / The Death of Methuselah & Other Stories / Uncollected Stories. Ed. Ilan Stavans. Vol. 3 of 3. The Library of America, 151. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2004.


Slave Narratives (1772-1864)


101. Slave Narratives. Ed. William L. Andrews & Louis B. Gates, Jr. The Library of America, 114. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2000.
     1. James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw: Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, An African Prince, As related by Himself (1772)
     2. Olaudah Equiano: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself (1789)
     3. Nat Turner: The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrection in Southhampton, VA. (1831)
     4. Frederick Douglass: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845)
     5. William Wells Brown: Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave. Written by Himself (1847)
     6. Henry Bibb: Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave, Written by Himself. With an Introduction by Lucius C. Matlack (1849)
     7. Sojourner Truth: Narrative of Sojourner Truth, a Northern Slave, Emancipated from Bodily Servitude by the State of New York, in 1828 (1850)
     8. William and Ellen Craft: Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; or the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery (1860)
     9. Harriet Ann Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Written by Herself (1861)
     10. Jacob D. Green: Narrative of the Life of J.D. Green, a Runaway Slave, from Kentucky. Containing an Account of His Three Escapes, in 1839, 1846, and 1848 (1864)


Susan Sontag (1933-2004)


102. Sontag, Susan. Essays of the 1960s and 70s: Against Interpretation / Styles of Radical Will / On Photography / Illness as Metaphor / Uncollected Essays. Ed. David Rieff. The Library of America, 246. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2013.


John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. (1902–1968)


103. Steinbeck, John. Novels and Stories, 1932-1937: The Pastures of Heaven; To a God Unknown; Tortilla Flat; In Dubious Battle; Of Mice and Men. 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936 & 1937. Ed. Robert DeMott & Elaine A. Steinbeck. The Library of America, 72. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1994.


104. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath and Other Writings, 1936-1941: The Long Valley; The Grapes of Wrath; The Log from the Sea of Cortez; The Harvest Gypsies. 1938, 1939, 1941 & 1951, 1936 & 1938. Ed. Robert DeMott & Elaine A. Steinbeck. The Library of America, 86. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1996.


105. Steinbeck, John. Novels, 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down; Cannery Row; The Pearl; East of Eden. Library of America. 1942, 1945, 1947, 1952. Ed. Robert DeMott. The Library of America, 132. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2002.


Wallace Stevens (1879-1955)


106. Stevens, Wallace. Collected Poetry & Prose. Ed. Frank Kermode & Joan Richardson. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1997.


Peter Taylor (1917-1994)


107. Taylor, Peter. Complete Stories: 1938-1959. Ed. Ann Beattie. The Library of America, 298. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2017.


108. Taylor, Peter. Complete Stories: 1960-1992. Ed. Ann Beattie. The Library of America, 299. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2017.


Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)


109. Thoreau, Henry David. A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers; Walden: or, Life in the Woods; The Maine Woods; Cape Cod. Ed. Robert F. Sayre. The Library of America, 28. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1985.


110. Thoreau, Henry David. Collected Essays and Poems. Ed. Elizabeth Hall Witherell. The Library of America, 124. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2001.


James Grover Thurber (1894-1961)


111. Thurber, James. Writings and Drawings. Ed. Garrison Keillor. The Library of America, 90. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1996.


Samuel Langhorne Clemens ['Mark Twain'] (1835-1910)


112. Twain, Mark. Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches & Essays 1852-1890. Ed. Louis J. Budd. The Library of America, 60. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1992.


113. Twain, Mark. Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches & Essays 1891-1910. Ed. Louis J. Budd. The Library of America, 61. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1992.


Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922–2007)


114. Vonnegut, Kurt. Novels & Stories 1963-1973: Cat's Cradle; God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater; Slaughterhouse-Five; Breakfast of Champions; Stories. Ed. Sidney Offit. Library of America Kurt Vonnegut Edition, 2. The Library of America, 216. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2011.


115. Vonnegut, Kurt. Novels & Stories 1987-1997: Bluebeard; Hocus Pocus; Timequake. Ed. Sidney Offit. Library of America Kurt Vonnegut Edition, 4. The Library of America, 273. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2016.


Eudora Alice Welty (1909-2001)


116. Welty, Eudora. Stories, Essays, & Memoir. ['A Curtain of Green' (1941); 'The Wide Net' (1943);'The Golden Apples' (1949);'The Bride of the Innisfallen' (1955);'Selected Essays';'One Writer's Beginnings' (1984)]. Ed. Richard Ford & Michael Kreyling. The Library of America, 102. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1998.


The Western (1940s & 1950s)


117. The Western: Four Classic Novels of the 1940s & 50s. ['The Ox-Bow Incident', by Walter Van Tillburg Clark (1940); 'Shane', by Jack Schaefer (1949); 'The Searchers', by Alan Le May (1954); 'Warlock', by Oakley Hall (1958)]. Ed. Ron Hansen. The Library of America, 331. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 2020.


Walter [Walt] Whitman (1819-1892)


118. Whitman, Walt. Poetry and Prose. Ed. Justin Kaplan. The Library of America, 3. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1982.

•

The Library of America
(2022-1979)
(listed in chronological order, most recent to earliest):

Shirley Jackson: Four Novels of the 1940s & 50s LOA N°336

Herman Melville: Complete Poems LOA N°320

Cornelius Ryan: The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far LOA N°318

 

Ursula K. Le Guin: Always Coming Home (Author's Expanded Edition) LOA N°315

Rachel Carson: Silent Spring & Other Writings on the Environment LOA N°307

John Ashbery: Collected Poems 1991–2000 LOA N°301

Peter Taylor: Complete Stories 1938–1959 LOA N°298

Peter Taylor: Complete Stories 1960-1992 LOA N°299

Peter Taylor: The Complete Stories

Ursula K. Le Guin: The Hainish Novels & Stories (boxed set)

Ursula K. Le Guin: Hainish Novels & Stories, Volume Two LOA N°297

Ursula K. Le Guin: Hainish Novels & Stories, Volume One LOA N°296  

 

Ursula K. Le Guin: The Complete Orsinia LOA N°281

Henry James: Autobiographies LOA N°274

Susan Sontag: Essays of the 1960s & 70s LOA N°246

The Collected Poems of W. S. Merwin (boxed set)

W. S. Merwin: Collected Poems 1996–2011 LOA N°241

W. S. Merwin: Collected Poems 1952–1993 LOA N°240

Sherwood Anderson: Collected Stories LOA N°235

Kurt Vonnegut: Novels & Stories 1963–1973 LOA N°216

Henry James: Novels 1903-1911 LOA N°215

Shirley Jackson: Novels & Stories LOA N°204

W. E. B. Du Bois: The Souls of Black Folk (Paperback Classic)

Raymond Carver: Collected Stories LOA N°195

Philip K. Dick: VALIS & Later Novels LOA N°193

The Lincoln Anthology: Great Writers on His Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now LOA N°192

John Cheever: Complete Novels LOA N°189

John Cheever: Collected Stories and Other Writings LOA N°188

John Ashbery: Collected Poems 1956–1987 LOA N°187

Philip K. Dick: Five Novels of the 1960s & 70s LOA N°183

Elizabeth Bishop: Poems, Prose, & Letters LOA N°180

Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s LOA N°173

Hart Crane: Complete Poems & Selected Letters LOA N°168

William Faulkner: Novels 1926–1929 LOA N°164

Henry James: Novels 1901–1902 LOA N°162

H. P. Lovecraft: Tales LOA N°155

Washington Irving: Three Western Narratives LOA N°146

Ezra Pound: Poems & Translations LOA N°144

Henry James: Novels 1896-1899 LOA N°139

Henry David Thoreau: Collected Essays & Poems LOA N°124

John James Audubon: Writings and Drawings LOA N°113

William Faulkner: Novels 1957–1962 LOA N°112

Henry James: Complete Stories 1864–1874 LOA N°111

Henry James: Complete Stories 1884–1891 LOA N°107

Henry James: Complete Stories 1874–1884 LOA N°106

Wallace Stevens: Collected Poetry & Prose LOA N°96

James Thurber: Writings & Drawings LOA N°90

Vladimir Nabokov: Novels 1969–1974 LOA N°89

Vladimir Nabokov: Novels 1955–1962 LOA N°88

Vladimir Nabokov: Novels & Memoirs 1941–1951 LOA N°87

John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath and Other Writings 1936–1941 LOA N°86

John Dos Passos: U.S.A. LOA N°85

Henry James: Complete Stories 1898–1910 LOA N°83

Henry James: Complete Stories 1892–1898 LOA N°82

Robert Frost: Collected Poems, Prose, & Plays LOA N°81

Zora Neale Hurston: Folklore, Memoirs, & Other Writings LOA N°75

Zora Neale Hurston: Novels & Stories LOA N°74

William Faulkner: Novels 1942–1954 LOA N°73

Ralph Waldo Emerson: Collected Poems & Translations LOA N°70

Henry James: Collected Travel Writings: The Continent LOA N°65

Henry James: Collected Travel Writings: Great Britain and America LOA N°64

Mark Twain: Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches, & Essays 1891–1910 LOA N°61

Mark Twain: Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches, & Essays 1852–1890 LOA N°60

Washington Irving: Bracebridge Hall, Tales of a Traveller, The Alhambra LOA N°52

Ulysses S. Grant: Memoirs & Selected Letters LOA N°50

William Faulkner: Novels 1936–1940 LOA N°48

Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859–1865 LOA N°46

Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832–1858 LOA N°45

Henry James: Novels 1886-1890 LOA N°43

Flannery O'Connor: Collected Works LOA N°39

Henry Adams: History of the United States During the Administrations of James Madison (1809–1817) LOA N°32

Henry Adams: History of the United States During the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809) LOA N°31

Henry James: Novels 1881–1886 LOA N°29

Henry David Thoreau: A Week, Walden, The Maine Woods, Cape Cod LOA N°28

James Fenimore Cooper: The Leatherstocking Tales: Volume Two LOA N°27

James Fenimore Cooper: The Leatherstocking Tales: Volume One LOA N°26

William Faulkner: Novels 1930–1935 LOA N°25

Herman Melville: Pierre, Israel Potter, The Piazza Tales, The Confidence-Man, Billy Budd, Uncollected Prose LOA N°24

Henry James: Literary Criticism: French Writers, Other European Writers, Prefaces to the New York Edition LOA N°23

Henry James: Literary Criticism: Essays on Literature, American Writers, English Writers LOA N°22

Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry & Tales LOA N°19

Stephen Crane: Prose & Poetry LOA N°18

Thomas Jefferson: Writings LOA N°17

Edgar Allan Poe: Essays & Reviews LOA N°20

Washington Irving: History, Tales & Sketches LOA N°16

Henry Adams: Novels, Mont Saint Michel, The Education LOA N°14

Henry James: Novels 1871–1880 LOA N°13

Francis Parkman: France and England in North America: Volume Two LOA N°12

Francis Parkman: France and England in North America: Volume One LOA N°11

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Collected Novels LOA N°10

Herman Melville: Redburn, White-Jacket, Moby-Dick LOA N°9

William Dean Howells: Novels 1875–1886 LOA N°8

Jack London: Novels and Stories LOA N°6

Walt Whitman: Poetry & Prose LOA N°3

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Tales & Sketches LOA N°2

Herman Melville: Typee, Omoo, Mardi LOA N°1  

[92 titles]