The Middle Years

Celebrated novelist Dencombe, aging and in fragile health, reflects on his life’s work while recovering at a seaside resort. When he befriends a young admirer, Dr. Hugh, he dares to hope for a second chance—one last opportunity to refine his craft and achieve true literary mastery. But time is slipping away, and the realization dawns that the best years may have been lost. The Middle Years is a short story by Henry James, originally published in 1893. HENRY JAMES [1843 -1916] was born in New York but emigrated to Europe early in life. He is one of the most important figures in Anglo-Saxon turn-of-the-century literature, with novels such as The American [1877] and the horror novel The Turn of the Screw [1898].