This entry in the Advances series focuses on theoretical and critical ideas pertinent to the contemporary study of Henry James, situating discussions of their respective critical trends both by looking back at their development and speculating about future developments. Specially commissioned contributions include a discussion of the development of critical tenets, methodologies, and methods from the initial reception of James to the present; the main contours of the contemporary situation; evaluations of the nominated area in relation to past and continuing critical approaches to relevant primary texts, and some speculation about future developments.