Henry James (1843 - 1916) was an American-born British writer. He is regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James. He is best known for a number of novels showing Americans encountering Europe and Europeans. His method of writing from a character's point of view allowed him to explore issues related to consciousness and perception and his style in later works has been compared to impressionist painting. His imaginative use of point of view, interior monologue and unreliable narrators brought a new depth to narrative fiction.

Presents the first fully annotated scholarly edition of The Bostonians, one of Henry James's most distinctive and important tragicomedies.

Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; General editors' preface; General chronology of James's life and writings; Introduction; Textual introduction; Chronology of composition and publication; The Bostonians; Glossary of foreign words and phrases; Notes; Textual variants; Appendices.