Both 19th and 20th century authors Henry James and Edith Wharton are commonly compared to each other, and their works are criticized for being close, if not the same. For ten years the two authors were close friends and traveled together throughout France and Europe in search of inspiration and new ideas. Wharton had never taken any kind of criticism well. Edith Wharton eventually sent her first written story, "The Line of Least Resistance," to Henry James and learned to accept criticism with respect from author to author. Henry James soon became a key literary advisor in some of his most famous works. But he soon began to follow James' example closely and began to write in his style. This style involved the construction of appearances along with a tragic ending. Writing with the manners, customs and beliefs of the upper class society, also allowed James to question the truth of that society. While including this style in Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton also reflects Henry James's ideas of an unreliable narrator, through the vision of a different genre than the author's own, from The Turn of the Screw. Writing through another person's mind, Henry James and Edith Wharton both used their knowledge of psychology to influence their works. But while psychology has only a minor influence in Wharton's work, her lyrics closely resemble James's influence. Since Henry James was Edith Wharton's friend, critic, and mentor, his novel Ethan Frome, published in 1911, reflects the influences James had on her writing, particularly from his novel The Turn of the Screw, published in 1898. Henry James was one of the most famous authors of his generation. He was born April 15, 184......middle of paper......orks, LLC., 2011. Web. Feb. 11, 2012. "Biography of Edith Wharton." Bio. True story. A&E Television Networks, LLC., 2011. Web. February 11, 2012. "Henry James." The National Portrait Gallery. Smithsonian. Network. February 11, 2012. Howe, Irving, ed. "On the Coral Reef: A Letter." Edith Wharton: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1962. Print. James, Henry. The turn of the screw. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991. Print.Killoran, Helen. "The Critical Reception of Edith Wharton." Google Books. 2001. Network. 11 February 2012. Liukkonen, Petri. "Edith Wharton." Books and writers. Creative Commons, 2008. Web. 14 February 2012. Powers, Lyall H., ed. Henry James and Edith Wharton: Letters: 1900-1915. New York: Sons of Charles Scribner, 1990. Print.Wharton, Edith. Ethan Frome. New York: Penguin Group, 2005. Print.