Henry James was not only a great novelist - he also wrote a great deal of entertaining non-fiction, producing reviews and essays on a wide variety of subjects. To mark the centenary of his death, these five anthologies reveal James through his letters, memoirs, essays and private notebooks.

Episode 2: Dining Out in English Society
Entertaining glimpses of English society through the sharp eyes of an American observer. James was an inveterate diner-out, and once managed 107 dinners in a season. He left sharp observations of the people he met at dinner, including the great writers of the day:

"The chattering and self-complacent Robert Browning, who I am sorry to say, does not make on me a purely agreeable impression. His transparent eagerness to hold the monopoly of the conversation and a sort of shrill interruptingness which distinguishes him have in them a kind of vulgarity."

For James, dining-out wasn't just a chance to meet celebrities - it gave him stories which became the plots in his novels. At one dinner, for instance, he heard the story of a family lawsuit which became The Spoils of Poynton. We hear the excited letter outlining the plot and characters for the novel which have struck him at the dinner table.

The anthology has been selected by Professor Philip Horne of University College London, who is founding General Editor of a major scholarly edition of James's fiction and has re-transcribed the notebooks for an authoritative new edition.

Reader: Henry Goodman
With introductions by Olivia Williams

Producer: Elizabeth Burke
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4. Show less