ABSTRACT
In 1894, with almost no warning, like a bolt of lightning out of placid skies, Bohemianism became the sensation and the rage of America. Suddenly, it became respectable and highly desirable for the young and the old alike. Everyone talked about it and strove to be considered a Bohemian; one might say that children cried for it. This colossal epidemic was brought on by no other aesthetic soul than Henry James.
