The letter that launched Edith Wharton's friendship with Henry James

A literary friendship was launched on this day in 1900.

Edith Wharton had long hoped to befriend Henry James, and on October 26, 1900, those hopes were realized.

He had read her short story “The Line of Least Resistance” in Lippincott’s Magazine and sat down on that day to send her feedback on it — all constructive, mostly positive.

The letter from James to Wharton, which you can read at Literary Hub, concludes with an invitation for her to both share her future writing with him and to visit him someday.

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