Henry Miller, born Henry Valentine Miller on the day after Christmas in 1891, was an American writer. His parents were Heinrich Miller, a tailor, and Louise Marie Neiting. Although Henry Miller was born in Manhattan, he was brought up in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. At the time, that area of Brooklyn was referred to as “The Fourteenth Ward.” Miller often used this term to refer to the area in his writing.
As a writer, Miller is known for blending genres together. Many of his texts which are referred to as “novels” are actually a mixture of fiction, nonfiction, autobiography, social criticism, philosophy, erotica, and fantasy. To further complicate matters, many of his “novels” include a character named “Henry Miller.” This character is generally agreed to be an individual apart from the author rather than simply a fictionalized version of him. Therefore, in discussions of his works, it is important to indicate whether or not the author or the character is being referenced.
Because of the explicit sexual content of his books, Henry Miller’s books were banned in the United States, and the author underwent obscenity trials. He was very good friends, and even lovers, with the author Anais Nin, who was also famous for the sexual content in her works.
Henry Miller is generally considered to have been a very intelligent man, even an intellectual. However, he did not subscribe or adhere to traditional academic structures. He very briefly attended the City College of New York, leaving after only two months of study. Despite his short stint in academia, Miller successfully published pieces of travel writing, literary analysis, and literary criticism. His scholarship was independent. In addition to being a writer, Miller was a painter and pianist.
Below, you will find a list of many of the works of Henry Miller. Although he published a great deal during the course of his life, he is probably best known for a selection of his novels: Sexus, Nexus, Plexus, Tropic of Cancer, and Tropic of Capricorn.
List of Works
Tropic of Cancer
What Are You Going to Do about Alf?
Black Spring
Max and the White Phagocytes
Tropic of Capricorn
The Cosmological Eye
The World of Sex, Chicago
Under the Roofs of Paris
The Colossus of Maroussi
The Wisdom of the Heart
Sunday after the War
Semblance of a Devoted Past
The Plight of the Creative Artist in the United States of America
Echolalia
Henry Miller Miscellanea
The Air-Conditioned Nightmare
Maurizius Forever
Remember to Remember
Into the Night Life
The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder
Sexus (Book One of The Rosy Crucifixion)
The Waters Reglitterized
The Books in My Life
Plexus (Book Two of The Rosy Crucifixion)
Quiet Days in Clichy, Paris
Recalls and Reflects
The Time of the Assassins: A Study of Rimbaud
Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch
The Red Notebook
Reunion in Barcelona
Nexus (Book Three of The Rosy Crucifixion)
To Paint Is to Love Again
Stand Still Like the Hummingbird
Just Wild about Harry
Greece
Opus Pistorum
Insomnia or The Devil at Large