Fictional Reality, Realist Fiction: Intimacies in Works of British and American Literature

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I claimed that Henry James's fiction reflects life's fictional, constructed quality. I therefore reasoned that the theories of 20th century microsociologist Erving Goffman, who claimed the same and analysed the constructed nature of face-to-face everyday life, must be relevant as a tool of literary analysis. This past project culminated in the publication of my monograph, *Performing the Everyday in Henry James's Late Novels* (Ashgate, 2009).My book project, tentatively entitled *Performing Intimacies of the Everyday* moves beyond James. I analysed selected works by authors James is famously known to have admired, such as Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, and G. Eliot, employing theories of relationship studies, social psychology, contemporary philosophy, and microsociology with a focus on understanding the phenomena of intimacies. A reputable British/American academic press has just invited me to send in the book manuscript for outside peer review.