Henry James

In an exclusive excerpt from his new book, 'Calder: The Conquest of Time,' Jed Perl reveals a hidden side of the artist.

Henry Adams's classic autobiography speaks to concerns of privilege, failure, and progress in his rapidly changing world.

Fear of diminishing broodstock got the gals going outdoors.

Before the word processor, perfect copy was the domain of the typist—not the literary genius.

Long before the gallery she built was famously robbed, Isabella Stewart Gardner was shocking 19th-century society with her disregard for convention.

Imported from Europe, the custom of leaving gratuities began spreading in the U.S. post-Civil War. It was loathed as a master-serf custom.