For as long as I have done archival research on Henry James I have en-countered rumors of a "dark side" to Leon Edel's influence on James studies. Edel, these rumors go, did his best to control and limit access to James archival material and to prevent publications by other scholars that would have "scooped" his own ongoing projects.

While the content of these rumors is no doubt familiar to many James scholars, some of the actual truth of the matter lies in the papers of the Paul R. Reynolds literary agency at Columbia University. These papers are a treasure trove for anyone interested in the publication and dramatization during the middle of the twentieth century of the James brothers' writings, relations amongst the James descendants, and Edel's relationship to the family and to the publication of Henry James's letters.