A Small Boy, And Others

London: Macmillan & Co., 1913 First edition, first printing. Signed and inscribed by James to front free endpaper: "For Dear Lady Mathew / Henry James / Oct: 1st, 1913." Publisher's dark blue cloth, ruled in blind and lettered in gilt to spine. A near fine copy with spotting to lower part of both boards and light wear to spine ends, foxing to first and last few leaves, else a very clean interior; handwritten note tipped in quoting a passage written by William James about his brother, Henry James (presumably in Lady Mathew's hand); newspaper clipping tipped in quoting text written by James about Sussex. A Small Boy, and Others is an autobiographical account of Henry James' childhood until age fourteen. Its publication was followed by a second memoir, Notes of a Son and a Brother (1914), which picks up where A Small Boy left off. Raised in an upper class, intellectual family, James spent his earliest years travelling around Europe, along the way meeting authors like Charles Dickens and William Thackeray. Overshadowed by his older brother, James sought comfort in the arts, always aspiring to be creative and holding dear his memories of theater productions and places like the Louvre. While known for its dense prose, A Small Boy was well-received by readers, and was widely appreciated for the honesty and vulnerability expressed by the author. James inscribed this copy to Lady Mathew, an old friend and the wife of late Sir James Charles Mathew, a noted Irish judge who is often quoted on his remark that "Justice is open to all - like the Ritz Hotel." The inscription, dated October 1st, 1913, was written just six months after the book was published. Also included in the book is a quotation from a passage written by William James, Henry's brother: "the same dear, old, innocent and at the bottom very powerless-feeling Henry remains, caring for little but his writing, + talk of dutifulness + affection for all gentle things.". Inscribed by Author. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good.