Wishing to see what lay beyond the bounds of the celestial city, Henry James devoted much of the Autumn of 1882 to his tour of France. Beginning at Tours, the birthplace of Balzac, he went on various excursions to the great chateaux of the Loire - including Blois, Chambord and Chenonceaux. Then he made his leisurely way south to the heart of the Midi and to the historic cities of Nantes, Bordeaux, Carcassonne, Nimes and Avignon. This book recounts his travels.