Italian Hours (I Wish)

I’ve discovered a little problem writing my sequel to “The Portrait of a Lady” and that problem is Italy. Or the fact that I have never been there. Henry James spent much time in Italy and set most of TPOAL in Florence and Rome. While writing TPOAL he fell absolutely in love with Venice. He described the "pure light air," talked of his room "flooded with the splendid sunshine," and in Florence, his "supercelestial" villa with "the most beautiful views on earth," so enchanting, so seductive was its spell he was often unable to work. He had a large community of friends in the three cities and plenty of distraction. Nevertheless, he was able to give a luxurious rendering of the Italian cities that alas, I will be unable to emulate in my sequel unless someone out there wants to take me to Italy. I am available for this journey, I am unemployed and free as can be, vowing to write something worthwhile if only for myself. As it is, I can only use second-hand material, either from TPOAL or from James’s travel writings and letters, or just information on the Internet. If I were in a villa in Florence, a palazzo in Rome or an apartment in Venice I could sparkle with descriptive passages while modulating the relationship of Isabel and Osmond. A simple hotel room would probably work just fine.

That said, James did not spend a great deal of wordage describing scenery in TPOAL. This was a character-driven novel and besides Isabel Archer Osmond, there were plenty of other characters that had to be rounded out, piles of dialogue and psychological insight to administer though he was able with a few succinct descriptions to place us in Italy with the Osmonds, especially in Palazzo Roccanera, their home in Rome. So it will probably be alright if I’m a little thrifty with descriptions as I will be busy with the Osmonds, Madame Merle, Pansy, Henrietta Stackpole Bantling and Mrs. Touchett. I also plan to introduce a few more characters so I may be forgiven if I can’t with any sensuousness describe the Italian light, its smells, the beauty of the people, the grace of the gondoliers, the cathedrals, piazzas, ruins…the sunrises and sunsets. If I do, I’ve either got a wonderful imagination, Mr. James is speaking to me from the afterlife, or I read it in a travel guide. That is, unless someone wants to take me to Italy and be of assistance with a more accurate portrayal. Below you will find links to a couple of HJ’s books on Italy. He wrote a great many travel pieces on Europe for American magazines that were later compiled into books. It was good money and earning money was necessary to live the good life which he certainly did. While residing in London he dreamed of Italy. I’m dreaming of Italy myself--I hope it will help.