[Perikles]

Out of context, the expression is ambiguous. What I think Henry James is saying, having read the whole paragraph, is that not only great fortunes, but also great reputations can be made. I still think the Spanish book is incorrect.

I find Irish literature very difficult because there are idiosyncracies which lead to this kind of misunderstanding. But taking it to be actual English, this is what it probably means.

Edit: I have now waded through the rest of the article, which seems specifically designed to be as obscure as possible, and probably the very worst kind of English prose for anyone to try and undertand as a second language. Fortunately, there were only a few pages accessible to me, but from what I read I gather he is lamenting the volume of fiction written produced at the cost of quality. Considering that authors can have a reputation even for bad style, I still think the above is what he meant.