At the end of Henry James: the Untried Years the year was 1870 and James had just returned to Cambridge, Massachusetts after his first major jaunt through Europe. His beloved cousin, Minnie Temple, had succumbed to a very long illness and James was finding his way as a successful writer. Now, in Henry James: the Conquest of London James is broadening his horizons with another trip to Europe. Volume One outlined James's personality and temperament and the seedling of his career as a writer whereas Volume Two waters that seedling and produces the blossoming of a true novelist. The parallels between Henry's characters and that of his own grow. It is life feeding art. The art that begins to blossom is the ever-famous Portrait of a Lady. ( )

734. Henry James 1870-1881: The Conquest of London, by Leon Edel (read 25 May 1963) (Pulitzer Biography prize for 1963) (National Book Award nonfiction prize for 1963) This is the second volume of Edel's great biography of James. ( )