Reviews

2/62: This book, by Henry James, might be the first of his that I have read. I enjoyed the way he wrote because not only was he entertaining, but he approached the subject with clarity and from different perspectives. James, in 1884, looked at the various methods of writing and the reasons for reading. James contends that people can write from imagination AND logic, creativity and experience, art and facts. James concludes: “try and catch the colour of life itself.”

jemlouise07's review

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4.0

Knocked off a star for Besant’s assertion that ‘everything (...) which is invented and is not the result of personal experience and observation is worthless’. I don’t know if I can blame him for this- if the aim of art is to mimic real life then, how can he be wrong? But to negate writings upon writings (fantasy, sci-fi etc, though I do not at all suspect he anticipated their subject matter)...
It doesn’t sit quite right with me, a modern reader.