The Lesson of the Master
1888
Paul Overt, a young writer hungry for mastery, encounters Henry St. George, the celebrated author whose work he has worshipped from afar. What follows is a devastating dissection of artistic idolatry. As Paul is drawn into St. George's world, he discovers the terrible secret behind the master's success: that art demands everything, and gives nothing back but hollow triumph. James constructs a psychological drama of immense subtlety, where the young acolyte must choose between the path of his mentor and something richer, messier, more alive. The novella poses its question with quiet ferocity: is greatness worth the price? For readers who have ever sacrificed something human for something beautiful, this is the ur-text, a masterwork about what masters sacrifice to become masters.
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“Our friend was slightly nervous; that went with his character as a student of fine prose, went with the artist’s general disposition to vibrate””
— Henry James
“... the new high-class lively evening paper which was expected to meet a want felt in circles increasingly conscious that Conservatism must be made amusing, and unconvinced when assured by those of another political colour that it was already amusing enough.””
— Henry James
“Και όμως τίποτα δεν μπορεί να συγκριθεί με τη ζωή! Κυρίως όταν είσαι εξαντλημένος, αφυδατωμένος και αναλωμένος και νιώθεις πως το ποτήρι της ζωής έχει αδειάσει, αλλά συνεχίζεις να γοητεύεσαι, να συγκινείσαι και να ριγείς, τότε η ιδέα αναδύεται -αιφνιδίως-, μια ιδέα που αποδεικνύει πως όσο είσαι ζωντανός πάντα κάτι μπορεί να συμβεί.””
— Henry James
“He had been told the ladies were at church, but this was corrected by what he saw from the top of the steps”
— Henry James
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James, Henry. The Lesson of the Master. Lex, lex-books.com/book/the-lesson-of-the-master-5d4e5061-070a-49a2-8172-fc8da05193e0.James, H. (1888). The Lesson of the Master. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-lesson-of-the-master-5d4e5061-070a-49a2-8172-fc8da05193e0James, Henry. The Lesson of the Master. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-lesson-of-the-master-5d4e5061-070a-49a2-8172-fc8da05193e0.
