Let yourself go in it & at it-it’s an untouched field, really: the folk who try, over there, don’t come within miles of any civilized, however superficially, any “evolved” life. And I applaud, I mean I value, I egg you on in, your study of the American life that surrounds you. The subject is really a big one for the canvas-that was really your difficulty. Either do them or don’t (directly,) touch them-such was doubtless your instinct.

However, you may very well say that there are two sides to that that one can’t do everything in 6000 words, one must narrowly choose (& à qui le dites-vous?) & that the complete non-vision of Millicent & her gentleman was a less evil than the frustrated squint to which you would have been at best reduced. The latter has an admirable sharpness & neatness, & infinite wit & point-it only suffers a little, I think, from one’s not having a direct glimpse of the husband’s provoking causes-literally provoking ones. I brave your interdiction & thank you both for your letter & for the brilliant little tale in the Philadelphia repository. In his letter, James encouraged Wharton to keep writing, advising her to cultivate her “ironic and satiric gifts.” The pair finally met in person in 1903, and the rest is history. At the time, Wharton had only published short stories and poems. Later, in 1876, James moved to England and became an English citizen in 1915, following the outbreak of World War I.Īfter reading Wharton’s “The Line of Least Resistance” in Lippincott’s Magazine, James felt compelled to write to her. James was born at 21 Washington Place, but his wealthy family favored a cosmopolitan lifestyle, which saw them traveling all over Europe. Although James was considerably older than Wharton, he came to admire her for her access to the old money world of New York elites and her ability to capture this culture with unrestricted accuracy and insight. Wharton, who was an unabashed fan of James, had been hoping to befriend the writer for many years. James’s Washington Square was, in part, a tribute to his Greenwich Village upbringing, and Wharton’s The Age of Innocence was influenced by her short stay.

Undoubtedly, Washington Square made a lasting impact on the two authors. Both authors had ties to the historic 21 Washington Place: James grew up in a now demolished building just east of Washington Square, and Wharton resided at Washington Square North for a brief period in 1882. On this day in 1900, Henry James sent his first letter to Edith Wharton, which kicked off a lifelong friendship and mentorship.

Washington square by henry james