The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-02-29
HENRY JAMES, M .73, DEAD AT HIS HOME IN LONDON
Noted Novelist Recently Re nOunced American Citizen
 ship for England

h.
 novelist. died at his Chelsea resi- dence, q Carlyle Mansions, last even i ing. He had been i'll for several months, but late in January his phy- l sicians reported that he was improv-
 ing. The affection from which he
 suffered. however. was chronic and i had been complicated by two strokes 1 Of apop1exy.
 About two weeks ago MT. James
 condition became grave again, and his l recovery was not looked for.
 internationally famous for his writ
 ings, Henry James most rec9nt1y at 1 tracted attention when he renounced
 his American citizenship and swore al- 1 legiance 10 England. His sympathy l with the cause of the Allies and his
 long residence in England with it's in
 timate associations and friendships, 1 are said to have impeIled him to take
 this step in July, 1915,
 l The London Times in editorial com 1 ment on his action said ''his desire to
 throw his moral weight and personal | allegiance, for whatever they may be worth, in the scale of contending na- tfons" was his impe1ling motive. The | London Daily News said: ''The de- i cision of one of the two greatest living
 novelists to seek Britain citizenship sets 9 dramatic seal upon the conclu- sion to which these things-the strug- gle of ideals between England and IGermany-have long pointed.''
 MT. James was one of the five chl-
 dren of the Rev. Henry James, and i was born this city on April IS, 1843. Of his three brothers, William be- came a, famous philosopher and Pro lessor of Psychology at Harvard Uni versity. Another, Wilkinson James, was a gallant soldier in the Civil War, and was wounded at Fort Wagner. Their grandfather was an Irishman,
 William James, who came to this country to seek his fortune and set tied in Albany. He took an active part in the development of the Syracuse salt wells, and when he died left a large fortune to be divided among his II children This grandfather was the root of the genius of the family, and was a. man of strong traits, with the keen Irish perception of character.
 MT. Jarnes's father was an able wri- ter, and during the years he spent abroad became a close associate of terary men. Young James received much training for his future literary labors through boyish acquaintance ship with these friends of his fathers Those who have compared the writ ingS of father and son have often said that there was a great similarity
 Henry James's first serious literary work was done for the Atlantic Monthly, with which he always main tained a close connection. His first contribution, entitled f'The Story of the YeaRs" appeared in March, 1865, and was founded on the civil war. His first serial story, "Poor Richard, 9 ran through three numbers of the ma gazine and was followed by Ga rielle de Bergerac'' three years later. Then came Watch and Ward,'' which was followed by more ambitious effort, ttRoderick Hudson,'' which ran through twelve numbers. After this novel, which had begun to create interest in the young author, there were three others 'fThe American,' ''The Europeans" and ''The Portrait of a Lady, all of which appeared in the Atlantic Monthly and attracted wide attention and much admiration.
 MT. James then wrote Washington Square, for Harper's Magazine and 'tConfidence'' for Scribner's, in addi- ton to essays and articles which were published in the former. These in cluded sketches of European travel as we'll as criticisms on literature and art and editorial work. After his first efforts, MT. James wrote, in the order in which they are named: tsThe Siege of London ttThe Tale of Three Cities'' ''The Boston ians,'' 'eThe Tragic Muse," "The Les son of the Master ''The Private Lfe,'' fsTerminations,' ''The Spells of Poynton,'' What Naisie Knew :fThe Two Magics,'' "In the Cage,'' ''The Awkward Age,'' t@The Soft Side,'' s-The Sacred Fount,'' and The Wings of the Dove.'' He was also the author of books in French, which were prafs- ed by the critics for their elegant die ton.
 His work as an essayist was also very favorably criticized, French Poets and Nove1ists'' in particular at tracting much attention. In later life, he wrote several plays, one of the most recent of which, The High Bid,'' was produced by Forbes-Rob ertspn, in London.
 Ranked as he was by the critics as one of the most masterful writers of the past generation, MT. JamesIS books were never so popular in this country as in England. His writings were of the analytical and metaphy- sical school of fiction and the full understanding of his works was a matter of endless controversy. To understand Henry James was, in the popular idea, the gift of only a privi- ieged few. Students at Harvard Uni versity who were forced by their course of studies to become conver- sant with the works of both the gifted James brothers, William the philoso- pher and Henry the novelist, coined the catch-phrase, William James writes philosophy-hke novels, while Henry writes novels like philosophy.
 Being independent of the reading public for his income, since his pri- vate fortune was sufficient, MT. James always adhered reigiously to his own