I read James's letter with a sinking feeling. No apology as you said and on top of this he now remembers his love for Catherine now that everything has fallen apart for him and it is convenient to do so. In my opinion, I don't think, that while we are suppose to see James on the same level of the Thorpes or as a bad person, we are not suppose to view him as someone to admire. There are six young people in this tale and it is split right down the middle: the three who are considerate, principled, and honest basically all get a happy ending with the person of their choice while the other three all lose out on the person/s they were persuing. It seems quite clear to me that when James chose to side with the Thorpes instead of his sister, he ended up in same boat as the them---with no one. Also, it is difficult to believe that he can't even now see through John Thorpe. He is the older of the two and has been out in the world longer and yet he has remained fairly stagnant in his growth while Catherine who chose to associate with the Tilneys over the Thorpes has matured a great deal in a short period of time. Is it to easy/cliche to say that it is a classic struggle between good and evil---the Tilneys vs. the Thorpes? In any case, perhaps James's story of growth and redemption is played 'off-screen' at a later date. :)