Henry James (New York, 1843 - 1916, London)
Letter to Isabella Stewart Gardner from Lamb House, Rye, 10 July 1899
Ink on paper, 17.6 x 22.5 cm (6 15/16 x 8 7/8 in.)
Blue Room
Commentary
“Welcome, welcome, fifty times welcome back to this warm side of the globe.” With these affectionate words, Henry James greets Isabella Stewart Gardner on her return to London in 1899. Gardner often stopped in London on her way to Venice and other cities in Europe and regularly took trains into the English countryside for sightseeing and social engagements. James urges her to take a train to visit him at Lamb House, his home in Rye, East Sussex, saying that he “can put you up very decently, & can even manage a maid if she isn’t very haughty.”