The Trial of Curiosity: Henry James, William James, and the Challenge of Modernity

In this important revisionist study, Posnock integrates literary and psychological criticism with social and cultural theory to make a major advance in our understanding of the life and thought of two great American figures, Henry and William James. Challenging canonical images of both brothers, Posnock is the first to place them in a rich web of cultural and intellectual affiliations comprised of a host of American and European theorists of modernity. A startling new Henry James emerges from a cross - disciplinary dialogue, which features Veblen, Suntan, Bourn, and Dewey, as well as Weber, Simmer, Benjamin, and Adorn. While contributing to current debates about the responsibility of the intellectual, Posnock's work will fascinate the general reader as well as literary and cultural critics and historians.