14 JUNE 1969, Page 20

Henry James at Home H. Montgomery Hyde (Methuen 45s). An

illuminating and touching portrait of the Master as domestic man—a role which, it emerges from this book, he fulfilled with the rarest tact and grace. Minutely aware of his surroundings and their various comforts, he remains nevertheless an amiable, complaisant guest in the homes of others, a generous and solicitous host in his own.