| "The Middle Years" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Henry James | |
 Terminations, 1895, first U.S. edition of "The Middle Years" | |
| Country | United States |
| Genre(s) | Short story |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Scribner's Magazine |
| Publication type | Periodical |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons |
| Media type | Print (Magazine) |
| Publication date | May 1893 |
| Pages | 11 |
"The Middle Years" is a short story by Henry James, first published in Scribner's Magazine in 1893. The novelist in the tale speculates that he has spent his whole life learning how to write, so a second life would make sense, "to apply the lesson." Second lives aren't usually available, so the novelist says of himself and his fellow artists: "We work in the dark—we do what we can—we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art."