Readers generally know only one of the two famous James brothers. Literary types know Henry James; psychologists, philosophers, and religion scholars know William James. In reality, the brothers鈥 minds were inseparable, as the more than eight hundred letters they wrote to each other reveal. In this book, J. C. Hallman mines the letters for mutual affection and influence, painting a moving portrait of a relationship between two extraordinary men. Deeply intimate, sometimes antagonistic, rife with wit, and on the cutting edge of art and science, the letters portray the brothers鈥 relationship and measure the manner in which their dialogue helped shape, through the influence of their literary and intellectual output, the philosophy, science, and literature of the century that followed.
William and Henry James served as each other鈥檚 muse and critic. For instance, the event of the death of Mrs. Sands illustrates what H鈥檙y never stated: even if the 鈥渕atter鈥 of his fiction was light, the minds behind it lived and died as though it was very heavy indeed. He seemed to best understand this himself only after Wm fully fleshed out his system. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 now explain save by the very fact of the spell itself . . . that [Pragmatism] cast upon me,鈥 H鈥檙y wrote in 1907. 鈥淎ll my life I have . . . unconsciously pragmatised.鈥
Wm was never able to be quite so gracious in return. In 1868, he lashed out at the 鈥渆very day鈥 elements of two of H鈥檙y鈥檚 early stories, and then explained: 鈥淚 have uttered this long rigmarole in a dogmatic manner, as one speaks, to himself, but of course you will use it merely as a mass to react against in your own way, so that it may serve you some good purpose.鈥 He believed he was doing H鈥檙y a service as he criticized a growing tendency toward 鈥渙ver-refinement鈥 or 鈥渃urliness鈥 of style. 鈥淚 think it ought to be of use to you,鈥 he wrote in 1872, 鈥渢o have any detailed criticism fm even a wrong judge, and you don鈥檛 get much fm. any one else.鈥 For the most part, H鈥檙y agreed. 鈥淚 hope you will continue to give me, when you can, your free impression of my performance. It is a great thing to have some one write to one of one鈥檚 things as if one were a 3d person & you are the only individual who will do this.鈥
鈥淛. C. Hallman鈥檚 cogent and imaginative musing on this fertile, conflicted, and brilliant literary correspondence . . . is rich in detail and important for our understanding of both William and Henry James.鈥濃擩ohn J. McDermott, general editor, The Correspondence of William James
鈥淛. C. Hallman鈥檚 Wm & H鈥檙y is an insightful, thorough analysis of Henry and William James鈥檚 letters, a delightfully intelligent and intimate study of their work, mutual influence, and the profound impact of the masters鈥 legacy through these self-portraits.鈥濃擧茅l猫ne Cardona, actor, James scholar, and author, Dreaming My Animal Selves
鈥淭he relationship of brothers William and Henry James is one of the great mysteries of American literature. Short of reading the dozens of volumes of their correspondence, there was little hope of understanding it. J. C. Hallman has read all of them, and has distilled and illuminated their exchanges in this insightful and suspenseful story-essay. The work of William James is having a critical renaissance in our post-Freudian, post-Jungian, postmodern age, and it is breathtaking to read here how the modern novel and postmodern philosophy were shaped in the James crucible.鈥濃擜ndrei Codrescu, author, So Recently Rent a World: New and Selected Poems
鈥淛. C. Hallman, with wit and wisdom, maps the now flashing, now somber streams of thought coursing through the correspondence of the James brothers, two of the undisputed geniuses in American letters. . . . In Hallman鈥檚 able hands, Wm and H鈥檙y come dazzlingly alive as well-seasoned guides through the depths and shoals of the writing life and of everyday living.鈥濃擡ric G. Wilson, author, My Business Is to Create: Blake鈥檚 Infinite Writing and Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can鈥檛 Look Away
