Philip Horne is a teacher

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 and literary critic

Literary criticism

Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...

 specializing in 19th century literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

, particularly Henry James

Henry James

Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....

 and Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...

. Educated at King's College School

King's College School

King's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's, or KCS Wimbledon, is an independent school for day pupils in Wimbledon in south-west London. The school was founded as the junior department of King's College London and occupied part of its premises in Strand, before relocating to...

 and Cambridge University

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

, he is currently Professor of English at University College London

University College London

University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

.

Horne has authored or edited a number of book about Henry James. In 1990 he published Henry James and Revision: The New York Edition, a careful study of the extensive revisions James made in his novels and tales

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 for the many-volumed but ill-fated New York Edition

New York Edition

The New York Edition of Henry James' fiction was a 24-volume collection of the Anglo-American writer's novels, novellas and short stories, originally published in the U.S. and the UK in 1907-1909, with a photogravure frontispiece for each volume by Alvin Langdon Coburn...

(1907-1909). He published a related article, Henry James at Work: The Question of Our Texts, as part of the 1998 collection of essays, The Cambridge Companion to Henry James edited by Jonathan Freedman. Horne generally favors the late revisions that James made in his fiction, and in his Cambridge Companion essay he emphasizes the importance for the critic of complete acquaintance with the various texts

Writing

Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...

 of a James novel or tale:

The serious critic of a fiction

Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

 by James not only needs to know about its main recent critics, I would argue, but also its early critical history, its critical reception, and James' own remarks about it in the Prefaces and letters. As I have suggested, James's revisions and adaptations can be seen as part of the critical dossier.

Horne has edited two editions of James' works: A London Life

A London Life

A London Life is a novella by Henry James, first published in Scribner's Magazine in 1888. The plot revolves around a crumbling marriage and its impact on many other people, especially Laura Wing, the sister of the soon-to-be-divorced wife...

and The Reverberator

The Reverberator

The Reverberator is a short novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in Macmillan's Magazine in 1888 and then as a book later the same year...

(1989) and The Tragic Muse

The Tragic Muse

The Tragic Muse is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly in 1889-1890 and then as a book in 1890...

(1995). Not surprisingly he used the New York Edition texts for all these works, and he included extensive textual notes. Horne has also published an epistolary biography of James, Henry James: A Life in Letters (1999). The book used 296 of James' letters as the framework for a biography that concentrated on the novelist's professional career. Approximately half the letters were previously unpublished. As usual, Horne wrote thorough textual notes on the letters.

Horne published an edition of Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...

in 2003, and has written on such varied topics as telephone

Telephone

The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...

s and literature, zombie

Zombie

Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...

s and consumer culture, and the texts of Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...

. His research interests include the films of Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...

 and Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese

Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...

, and publishing

Publishing

Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...

history.

External links

• Philip Horne's page at the University College London web site
• Henry James and the Masks of Life by Philip Horne
• Philip Horne discusses British film director Thorold Dickinson
• Philip Horne's review of David Lodge's novel about Henry James, Author, Author
• Philip Horne's interview with Ruth Prawer Jhabvala on the film version of The Golden Bowl