The American (James)

For works with similar titles, see American.
Versions of The American include:
  • "The American" in The Atlantic Monthly 37–39 (June 1876–May 1877)
    — First publication in any form.
  • The American (Boston: J. R. Osgood, 1877)
    — first American book edition, and first publication in book form; substantially revised for publication from the serial edition, though it is uncertain how involved James was in the revision.
  • The American (London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1877)
    — An unauthorised (i.e. pirated) edition, first to the English market; Number 32 of Ward, Lock and Co.'s "Favourite Authors, British and Foreign" series; James referred to it as "vilely printed... there are whole paragraphs omitted."
  • The American (Leipzig: Bernard Tauchnitz, 1878)
    — first Continental book edition; authorized; Volumes 1713 and 1714 of Tauchnitz's "Collection of British Authors" series.
  • The American (London: Macmillan & Co., 1879)
    — Second English book edition; first authorized.
  • The American (London: Macmillan & Co., 1883)
    — Volumes 6 and 7 of the "Collective Edition of 1883"
  • The American (London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1888?)
    — Reprint, from the same plates, of the unauthorised first English edition; Number 519 of Ward, Lock and Co.'s "Select Library of Fiction" series.
  • The American (London: Ward, Lock & Bowden, 1894)
    — Another reprint, from the same plates, of the unauthorised first English edition; Part of Ward, Lock and Bowden's "Copyright Novels" series.
  • The American (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1907)
    — Volume 2 of The Novels and Tales of Henry James; the "New York Edition" text; heavily revised for publication by James.
  • The American (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1909)
  • The American (London: Macmillan & Co., 1921)
    — Volume 2 of The Novels and Stories of Henry James, the first posthumous collection of James' works; uses the "New York Edition" text.


  • The American (unsourced edition)
    — A text copied from Project Gutenberg. The text is that of the first American edition, but the provenance is otherwise unknown.