The Tragic Muse

Originally serialised in the Atlantic Monthly between 1889 and 1890, before being published in book form later in the year, The Tragic Muse was James' last full novel before his doomed foray into writing for the stage. The plot also hinges on dramatic leanings, with Miriam Rooth, a young and by all accounts extremely raw actress, providing the love interest for one of the other leads in Peter Sherringham, a high flyer in the British Diplomatic Service. Other characters include, Nick Dormer, a politician who'd prefer to be an artist and his partner Julia Darrow who prefers him in the House of Commons.



There are in fact at least fifty named characters in The Tragic Muse and a plot to carry them through, making the novel an oddity in the James portfolio. In truth it reads more like a typically Victorian novel from authors like Dickens or Thackaray, rather than the pared down character studies that James would perfect towards the end of his career.