By way of the indications found in the Notebooks from 1894-1895, when he began to reflect on the seminal motif of what would become The Wings of the Dove (the early death of a heroine whose heritage would appear to equip her for a life of splendor) to the 1909 Preface to the New York edition of the novel, Henry James will be our guide for the reading of the novel, a lesson in reading and a Jamesian lesson in living under duress, in time.