The Lesson of the Master

The Lesson of the Master is a novella written by Henry James, originally published in 1888.

A promising young writer meets an older man whose works have inspired him, as well as a highly intelligent and attractive young woman, at a gathering in a country house.

Anxious to learn all he can from the older writer, the young man seeks his views not only about art, but also the way in which a serious artist should live.

By the end of the work, he has indeed learned his lessons, albeit not quite those that he was expecting.

It's not giving anything away to say that this novella bears some resemblance to James's later novel, The Ambassadors, which in many ways engages the same questions.

Total Running Time (TRT): 2h, 29min

Henry James, OM (Order of Merit) (1843-1916) was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism.

He is best known for a number of novels showing Americans encountering Europe and Europeans. His method of writing from a character's point of view allowed him to explore issues related to consciousness and perception, and his style in later works has been compared to impressionist painting. His imaginative use of point of view, interior monologue and unreliable narrators brought a new depth to narrative fiction.

Henry James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916.