Henry James (1843-1916) was born in New York. Coming from a rather well-off family, he enjoyed good education and travelled extensively to England, Switzerland, France and Germany. He graduated from Harvard Law School. He started his literary career with a volume of short-stories, "A Passionate Pilgrim" (1871). In 1876 he settled in London. In 1915 he became a British subject to protest against America’s aloofness from World War I. Some of the most important novels are: "The American" (1877), "The Portrait of a Lady "(1881), "The Princess Casamassima"(1886). After 1890 begins his major period of creation: "The Tragic Muse"(1890), "The Spoils of Poynton"(1897), "The Ambassadors"(1903), "The Golden Bowl"(1904). He is also the author of a series of critical writings and dramas.

"Washington Square"(1881) is one of James’s early novels which focuses on the theme of unfulfilled love. Love instead of becoming a reason for joy is seen as a source of enormous frustration, especially due to the social code of behaviour imposed by the Puritanism of the New World.