Lamb House, Rye, Sussex, UK

Henry James was born in New York City in 1843 but spent much of childhood in Europe, which significantly influenced his fiction writing. By the time he was 25 years old, James had published 53 reviews and 12 short stories. By the time he was 35 he had published several novels (Mendleson 1). Although James possessed disdain for The Yellow Book, he did publish four short stories within the periodical (Mendleson 2). James had a vested interest in the theatre throughout his life and so when he found himself in a difficult financial situation he turned to playwriting. Some of these plays were produced but overall, these plays were the least successful of his projects (Mendleson 2).