Abstract
N his essay on Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James defines art of literary portraiture as ability catch a talent in fact, follow its line, and put a finger on its essence.... But what if there is little talent, faintest trace of a line, and an essence apprehensible solely in terms of a vanished expatriate society? James's one full-scale biography, William Wetmore Story and His Friends, poses such questions while contriving to mute, stifle, or evade them. Now that fourth and final volume of James's Letters has appeared,2 it is possible for first time to understand Master's reasons for accepting this onerous commission, nature of difficulties he experienced, and ways in which he responded to challenge of a subjectless biography.3 Two letters from period of composition (Sept. I902 -Jan. I903) stand out for their frank avowals of frustration and their reflections on biographical design. To Sarah Wister, who had been one of his closest companions during magical Roman visit of I872-73, James writes at length of difficulties inherent in the queer job, and adumbrates shape he is trying to impose on an unwieldy collection of materials:
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