"The best known facts about James--his illustrious, wealthy family and famous siblings; his prolific literary output with its numerous quirky female heroines; his long-term bachelorhood, and the rumours that accompanied it; and his flamboyant adoption of British citizenship in 1915--have all served to create a mythology surrounding the author. In this succinct new biography, Dr. Hazel Hutchison examines the writer's childhood, travels, experiences and acquaintances, all of which reappear to varying degrees in his writing"--P. [1] of cover.