Henry James dies in London at the age of 72 on this day in 1916 after suffering a stroke two months earlier.

As a young boy, James was tutored by governesses and shuttled back and forth between Europe and America. He went to Harvard Law School and was set to be a “man of letters” writing criticisms and essays. But today, James is most well-known as a novelist and with his short story The Turn of the Screw, a masterful teller of horror stories.

His most famous books, The Portrait of a Lady, The Wings of the Dove and Daisy Miller would portray the interactions between Americans in Europe, a subject he knew well from his time spent in both countries. Things don’t usually end well for James’ American heiresses.