One of the forty-two rooms is described on the official Mount map as “Henry James Guest Room.” I lingered there, though there’s nothing much to see. The room in which the Master stayed on at least three occasions has not yet been restored to its original condition, and currently houses a tableau of period objects illustrating a scene from Wharton’s 1907 novel The Fruit of the Tree. I didn’t care. I was standing where James had slept, and until the day finally comes when I’m lucky enough to visit Lamb House, that will be enough for me.
All of which reminds me of my favorite Henry James anecdote, famously recounted by none other than Edith Wharton herself…
Read the whole thing here.