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A cunning audacious portait of Henry James.--<i>The Boston Globe</i> <p/>Henry James takes center stage in this brilliant story about literary ambition creativity and rivalry as revealed in the public career and private life of this most singular writer. Framed by a moving and dramatic account of his last illness <i> Author</i> opens in the early 1880s describing James's close friendship with an illustrator named George du Maurier and his intimate but problematic relationship with fellow American novelist Constance Fenimore Woolson. At the end of the decade Henry worried by the failure of his books to sell resolves to achieve fame and fortune as a playwright while du Maurier diversifies into writing novels. The consequences that ensue mingle comedy irony pathos and suspense. As Du Maurier's novel <i>Trilby</i> becomes the bestseller of the century Henry anxiously awaits the opening night of his make-or-break play <i>Guy Domville</i>. This event on January 5 1895 and its complex sequel form the climax to Lodge's absorbing novel.