Abstract
“Henry James’s Letters and Why They Matter” has three parts: first, an overview of Henry James’s letters and The Complete Letters of Henry James edition; second, a discussion of strategies for representing James’s letters, with attention to the utility of plain-text style; and third, a review the importance and usefulness of James’s letters, including long-term letters series and a sudden appearance in the letters from 1889 and 1890 of the language of death and violence.