Oxford University Press

Oxford Publishes Wrong Text, Declines Comment

by Uriel Wittenberg (uw@urielw.com)

July, 2001

Oxford University Press editions of Washington Square published in 1982 and 1998 do not reflect about thirty significant alterations made by Henry James shortly after the novel’s initial publication, apparently because the editor was unaware of the alterations. Oxford University Press has not responded to repeated inquiries.

The Library of America website (as of July 4, 2001) provides information about the early publication history of Washington Square. The following is an edited excerpt of a note on the text of the Library of America volume (Henry James: Novels 1881-1886) which includes Washington Square:

Washington Square first appeared in serial form, running in

  • Cornhill Magazine, in England, from June through November 1880; and
  • Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, in America, from July through December of 1880.
Washington Square then appeared in book form:

  • Harper & Brothers published an edition in America on December 1, 1880 (although the title page bears the imprint 1881); and
  • Macmillan & Co. published an edition in England on January 26, 1881.

James made about thirty significant alterations for the Macmillan edition, among them changing

  • “queer corners” to “far-away lands” at 20.10;
  • “talkative guest” to “anecdotical idler” at 39.27;
  • “quiet” to “formally submissive” at 81.4;
  • “sadly” to “wearily” at 107.31;
  • “with her unexploded bomb in her hands” to “primed, to repletion, with her apology, but unable to bring it to light” at 149.31-32;
  • “passion” to “passive grief” at 155.2;
  • “grief” to “misery” at 155.5; and
  • “some solemnity” to “much expression” at 164.9-10.

Because of these revisions, the edition by Macmillan & Co. is the best of the available texts and is the one reprinted here.

Oxford University Press published Washington Square as a World’s Classics paperback in 1982, then reissued it as an Oxford World’s Classics paperback in 1998. A 1982 note on the text by editor Mark Le Fanu states: “Except for minor changes in punctuation, James appears not to have revised his text between serial and book publication. Washington Square was not included in the 1907 New York Edition. The text used in this edition is, therefore, that of the first English book publication.”

The text in fact does not reflect the alterations listed above in the Library of America note. It thus appears to be based on the 1880 Harper & Brothers edition, and by “first English book publication” the editor evidently meant “first English-language book publication” (which seems strangely redundant).

Oxford University Press has not responded to repeated inquiries made since June 18, 2001.

Home