# The American (James)

The novel is an uneasy combination of social comedy and melodrama concerning the adventures and misadventures of Christopher Newman, an essentially good-hearted but rather gauche American businessman on his first tour of Europe. Newman is looking for a world different from the simple, harsh realities of 19th-century American business. He encounters both the beauty and the ugliness of Europe, and learns not to take either for granted. The core of the novel concerns Newman's courtship of a young widow from an aristocratic Parisian family.Warning: template has been deprecated.
* "The American" in The Atlantic Monthly 37–39 (June 1876–May 1877)
** "The American" (Chapters 1–3) in The Atlantic Monthly 37 (224) (June 1876): 651–673.
** "The American" (Chapters 4–5) in The Atlantic Monthly 38 (225) (July 1876): 15–31.
** "The American" (Chapters 6–7) in The Atlantic Monthly 38 (226) (August 1876): 155–171.
** "The American" (Chapters 8–10) in The Atlantic Monthly 38 (227) (September 1876): 310-329.
** "The American" (Chapters 11–12) in The Atlantic Monthly 38 (228) (October 1876): 461-474.
** "The American" (Chapters 13–14) in The Atlantic Monthly 38 (229) (November 1876): 535-550.
** "The American" (Chapters 15–16) in The Atlantic Monthly 38 (230) (December 1876): 640-657.
** "The American" (Chapters 17–18) in The Atlantic Monthly 39 (231) (January 1877): 1-18.
** "The American" (Chapters 19–20) in The Atlantic Monthly 39 (232) (February 1877): 161-176.
** "The American" (Chapters 21–22) in The Atlantic Monthly 39 (233) (March 1877): 295-311.
** "The American" (Chapters 23–24) in The Atlantic Monthly 39 (234) (April 1877): 412-426.
** "The American" (Chapters 25–26) in The Atlantic Monthly 39 (235) (May 1877): 530-544.
    — First publication in any form.
* The American (Boston: J. R. Osgood, 1877)
    — first American book edition, and first publication in book form; substantially revised for publication from the serial edition, though it is uncertain how involved James was in the revision.
* The American (London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1877)
    — An unauthorised (i.e. pirated) edition, first to the English market; Number 32 of Ward, Lock and Co.'s "Favourite Authors, British and Foreign" series; James referred to it as "vilely printed... there are whole paragraphs omitted."
* The American (Leipzig: Bernard Tauchnitz, 1878)
    — first Continental book edition; authorized; Volumes 1713 and 1714 of Tauchnitz's "Collection of British Authors" series.
* The American (London: Macmillan & Co., 1879)
    — Second English book edition; first authorized.
* The American (London: Macmillan & Co., 1883)
    — Volumes 6 and 7 of the "Collective Edition of 1883"
* The American (London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1888?)
    — Reprint, from the same plates, of the unauthorised first English edition; Number 519 of Ward, Lock and Co.'s "Select Library of Fiction" series.
* The American (London: Ward, Lock & Bowden, 1894)
    — Another reprint, from the same plates, of the unauthorised first English edition; Part of Ward, Lock and Bowden's "Copyright Novels" series.
* The American (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1907)
    — Volume 2 of The Novels and Tales of Henry James; the "New York Edition" text; heavily revised for publication by James.
* The American (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1909)
* The American (London: Macmillan & Co., 1921)
    — Volume 2 of The Novels and Stories of Henry James, the first posthumous collection of James' works; uses the "New York Edition" text.