Henry James

More English Memories

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Post published:October 19, 2015
Post category:Biography of Constance Fenimore Woolson England
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I am revisiting my trip to follow in Constance Fenimore Woolson's footsteps almost exactly three years ago. My first stops were Salisbury and Wells, England, which I discussed in my last post. From Wells, via Bath, I visited Cheltenham, the spa town in which Woolson lived for about two years in 1890 and 1891. She was never happy there, so I didn't stay…

What’s the worst review you ever got? Woolson’s was a doozy.

Post author:admin
Post published:April 2, 2014
Post category:Biography of Constance Fenimore Woolson Women Writers Woolson's Career Woolson's Writings
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At the beginning of Woolson's career, she wrote to William Dean Howells that the “critics seem to hold my very life in their hands.” She could not sleep after reading her reviews. In September 1874, she must have laid awake for nights after reading The Nation’s review of two of her stories just published. Without the support of Howells and other elite male writers,…