Henry James was not only a great Victorian novelist, but also a great travel writer. This collection combines his vivid letters from Italy, many of which have never been published before, with a selection of his most heartfelt and eloquent essays about the cities and rural areas he visited between 1859 and 1907. The recent biographer of James has compiled for readers and tourists a literary map of James's Italy, an ideal companion for any explorer. His book provides a city-by-city tour of Florence, Venice, Rome and the breathtaking countryside in between. In James's prose writings on Italy, readers will find the sensuous, passionate human side of this writer.