Henry James and the Quest for the Holy Grail: Victorian Medievalism and Modern Criticism

Lustig

doi:10.1353/hjr.2023.0004

Authors

Lustig

Abstract

This article offers two case studies. The first examines James’s encounters with medieval buildings in his early travel writings. The second takes as its starting point James’s involvement in The Quest of the Holy Grail, a text which accompanied an 1895 exhibition of paintings by Edwin Austin Abbey. Whilst James’s knowledge of medieval architectural forms seems both confident and coherent, his awareness of medieval literary forms seems more tentative and even sketchy. Reasons for this disparity are considered, but medieval romance motifs are nevertheless found to inform James’s conception of criticism from the outset of his career.

Acceptance Date

Jan 10, 2022

Publication Date

Jan 28, 2023

Journal

The Henry James Review

Print ISSN

0273-0340

Electronic ISSN

1080-6555

Publisher

Johns Hopkins University Press