It's hard to believe that James's theatrical turn of the late 19th century ended with his audience "booing" him off the stage. This novelized play reads quickly and delightfully. I've read more than twenty of his novels, and this was the quickest of them all.

The plot is simple enough (at least for James): two houses, apparently back to back, in Wilverley, a small English village, set the scene. One contains a widow, the other a young married couple. The young wife widows the young husband, and he becomes Wilverley's "most eligible bachelor," except for the fact that he promised his dying wife that he would never marry again, at least not during the life of his child. So somebody has to kill the child, right?

Enter James's genius for character. There's Paul, the huge, infinitely imperturbable son of the wealthy Mrs. Beever; the diminutive and impetuous Dennis Vidal; Tony Bream himself, a remarkably good-natured but insensitive fool; and the powerful Mrs. Beever, whose awful determination cows every one else before her. Like James's best writing, his characters become interesting on their own; his fictions become an opportunity to satisfy curiosity. I think that's what makes this book a "page-turner"; the characters are interesting enough that I want to know what's going to happen.

In the end, I suppose, what makes this book succeed is what would have made the dramatic version fail: James's endless fascination with the workings of the human mind must have become either painfully boring or just incomprehensible to a theatrical audience. However it came about, I recommend it unequivocally.

This book is a novelization of the play by the same name. And you can see the stageplay - the characters are continually coming and going - and there's stage business - all of which I think shows some stiffness - yet about half way through the novel I was startled at how much the characters were real, rounded - I could just about see them - they ached with life - I was always aware of the stage during the novel - the story itself is rather shocking - it's a mystery novel! - it's all very well done - it's short - and it's very psychological

I am impressed with The New York Review's revival of this unexpectedly non-Jamesian title. A truly unique James choice to bring back to life--it's been done so with a cover so compelling (I'm not a tradional James fan) I opened the book which I found locally in a brick and mortar as they are now called, book shop. The internet cannot do justice to the thoughtful sophistication of this book's packaging. (But I can purchase another copy here more easily!) The publisher's comments about the work were also compelling and complimentary to the cover art. The Other House is a mystery, a detective story, a love triangle with more than three angles--a true page turner--with a timelessly human plot and "modern" characters. Anyone thriller fan would be enchanted with it. And turning every page, holding the book, is a sensory thrill. Paper, writing, art--all representative of what any literary rebirth deserves. If it's worth bringing back--do it with quality, I say! They did--along with a whole marvelous collection of equally intriguing books, with well written new introductions. Good choices--the pieces themselves, the introduction authors and the book artist designers. Truly timeless in all ways!

One of the most stunning moments in my art-watching career came many years ago in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, when I suddenly came upon Henry Tanner's painting "The Annunciation." I remained transfixed for many minutes. It remains my favorite religious painting of the last couple of centuries. I soon learned that the artist was the first African-American to make it to the artistic top, the stratospheric heights of French Salon shows and membership in the American National Academy of Design. Tanner was almost forgotten for a long time, but there is a flock of webpages and internet resources on him now, as well as this wonderful biography.
Marcus Bruce has written a brief book that lays out Tanner's lifecourse, centering on the religious and spiritual side, which was, in fact, Tanner's true focus. (Tanner, a minister's son, remained deeply religious all his life.) This book is not only clear and authoritative; it has some of the most insightful art criticism that I have seen. Bruce is far from the "in the right corner we see a dog" school of art writing. He describes the paintings in relation to Tanner's spiritual quest, and Tanner's vision of the world and humanity. His account of my beloved "Annunciation" is a real masterpiece.
My only complaint with this book (besides sloppy editing--there are too many typos) is that it is too short and does not have color pictures! I hope, even pray, that Dr. Bruce will go on to do a full-scale, large-format art book about Henry Tanner, with the major works in full color. Tanner certainly deserves it--he still has not received the recognition he deserves--and Bruce is the man to do it.

I was hoping to get some interesting insight into Doc Holliday by one of his ancestors and this book does provide information on his early life that you don't usually find. However, there was a little too much information about his family - parents, uncles, aunts - that I personally did not care about. There is also a section of Doc Holliday's genealogy that I felt could have been left out, although actually there was a tidbit of information there that was useful to me. I didn't feel that there was much detail brought in to certain events, but then, there are other books that provide practically second by second coverage of the Tombstone gunfight. His death was not written in detail and his famous last words were left out of the book. That said, I would still recommend this book to someone wanting to know more about the life of Doc Holliday away from Tombstone. It is also an easy, to the point read.

The first time I watched the movie Tombstone, I was heartbroken that it chose to focus on the Earp family, rather than Doc Holliday who seemed SO much more interesting! After the movie, I realized that I knew very little about this man other than his nickname. I started to search for factual information about "Doc" Holliday, and not much is available.

This is a FANTASTIC book. Forget your romantic notions about the gunslinger, and be prepared to meet the real man who is much more fascinating and WORTHY OF ADMIRATION than you would have believed previously.

The greatest weakness of this book is also it's greatest strength since the book is authored by a Holliday cousin. She has access to a wealth of information and photos that the publisher claims has never been available before its 1999 printing of this book. However, when it comes to certain scandals, you can easily see how she chooses to represent history in a favorable light. Probably best read in conjunction with other first hand but less biased sources.

Definately worth owning. A very easy read. Would make a great gift to interest a teenager in reading or in history.

THE TOMBSTONE EPITAPH, July 1998 -- Review by C. F. Eckhardt, Book Bag Editor.

From the publication of this book on, any work about or mentioning John Henry Holliday, DDS, which does not list this book as a source must be considered essentially the product of imagination.

Previous serious attempts at biography of Doc Holliday had their good points, but they lacked one thing: No one had any real information on the background of the young Georgia dentist who became Doc Holliday.

The Holliday Family, for over a century, refused to even discuss their notorious relative with anyone outside the family circle. As a result, the background information in those books was based upon rumor, gossip, and a few matters of public record, some of which was relatively accurate but much of which was pure moonshine.

At long last the Holliday's have broken the silence. Tanner writes, "Enough time has past so that there is no one left who feels either shame or guilt over the life ! of John Henry." Therefore, from the Holliday family Bibles, letters, unpublished family manuscripts, genealogical records, and the gathered memories of the family, she has given us the story of a shy, retiring, handicapped child whose life was turned upside down twice -- once by the War Between the States and Reconstruction, and again by the death of his beloved mother and his father's hasty remarriage to a woman only eight years the senior of his son -- who became the legend known across the American West as 'Doc Holliday.'

This is the single 'must have' book on the subject of Doc Holliday. Any of the other biographies are worth reading, but only if you read them in conjunction with DOC HOLLIDAY, A FAMILY PORTRAIT will you get the full picture of the man who became Doc Holliday.

THE EUROPEANS IS NOT ONE OF HENRY JAMES BETTER NOVELS. NEVERTHELESS, FOR FANS OF JAMES, IT'S QUITE READABLE.
THE NOVEL IS ABOUT 2 EUROPEANS - A YOUNG MAN AND WOMAN, BROTHER AND SISTER, WHO TRAVEL TO AMERICA (BOSTON) TO VISIT THEIR LONG LOST AMERICAN COUSINS.
THE PLOT INVOLVES THE AMOROUS ENTANGLEMENTS OF THE COUSINS AND THEIR AMERICAN FRIENDS.
MUCH OF THE STORY DEALS WITH CONTRASTING THE EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN "WAYS" AND "LIFESTYLES" - A FAVORITE TOPIC OF JAMES.
THE BOOK IS NOT A COMPLEX READ LIKE SOME OF HIS LATER NOVELS. IT'S QUITE ACCESSIBLE AND MILDLY ENTERTAINING.

THE EUROPEANS IS NOT ONE OF HENRY JAMES BETTER NOVELS. NEVERTHELESS, FOR FANS OF JAMES, IT'S QUITE READABLE.
THE NOVEL IS ABOUT 2 EUROPEANS - A YOUNG MAN AND WOMAN, BROTHER AND SISTER, WHO TRAVEL TO AMERICA (BOSTON) TO VISIT THEIR LONG LOST AMERICAN COUSINS.
THE PLOT INVOLVES THE AMOROUS ENTANGLEMENTS OF THE COUSINS AND THEIR AMERICAN FRIENDS.
MUCH OF THE STORY DEALS WITH CONTRASTING THE EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN "WAYS" AND "LIFESTYLES" - A FAVORITE TOPIC OF JAMES.
THE BOOK IS NOT A COMPLEX READ LIKE SOME OF HIS LATER NOVELS. IT'S QUITE ACCESSIBLE AND MILDLY ENTERTAINING.

THE EUROPEANS IS NOT ONE OF HENRY JAMES BETTER NOVELS. NEVERTHELESS, FOR FANS OF JAMES, IT'S QUITE READABLE.
THE NOVEL IS ABOUT 2 EUROPEANS - A YOUNG MAN AND WOMAN, BROTHER AND SISTER, WHO TRAVEL TO AMERICA (BOSTON) TO VISIT THEIR LONG LOST AMERICAN COUSINS.
THE PLOT INVOLVES THE AMOROUS ENTANGLEMENTS OF THE COUSINS AND THEIR AMERICAN FRIENDS.
MUCH OF THE STORY DEALS WITH CONTRASTING THE EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN "WAYS" AND "LIFESTYLES" - A FAVORITE TOPIC OF JAMES.
THE BOOK IS NOT A COMPLEX READ LIKE SOME OF HIS LATER NOVELS. IT'S QUITE ACCESSIBLE AND MILDLY ENTERTAINING.