Book Description
Mrs. Gereth had said she would go with the rest to church, but suddenly it seemed to her that she should not be able to wait even till church-time for relief: breakfast, at Waterbath, was a punctual meal, and she had still nearly an hour on her hands. Knowing the church to be near, she prepared in her room for the little rural walk, and on her way down again, passing through corridors and observing imbecilities of decoration, the esthetic misery of the big commodious house, she felt a return of the tide of last night's irritation, a renewal of everything she could secretly suffer from ugliness and stupidity. Why did she consent to such contacts? why did she so rashly expose herself? She had had, heaven knew, her reasons, but the whole experience was to be sharper than she had feared. To get away from it and out into the air, into the presence of sky and trees, flowers and birds, was a necessity of every nerve. The flowers at Waterbath bath would probably go wrong in color and the nightingales sing out of tune; but she remembered to have heard the place described as possessing those advantages that are usually spoken of as natural. There were advantages enough it clearly didn't possess. It was hard for her to believe that a woman could look presentable who had been kept awake for hours by the wallpaper in her room; yet nonetheless, as in her fresh widow's weeds she rustled across the hall, she was sustained by the consciousness, which always added to the unction of her social Sundays, that she was, as usual, the only person in the house incapable of wearing in her preparation the horrible stamp of the same exceptional smartness that would be conspicuous in a grocer's wife. She would rather have perished than have looked _endimanchee._ ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Nice piece of 1890s James
Negative reviews of this small gem baffle me.The writing is so refined that in the best passages slide forth in a leisurely, ambling brilliance.Fleda Vetch, who dreams away the chance of marriage and ruins both her own and her loved one's prospects, in her indecision and her vanity, has a great Jamesian fineness and clearness.The dialogue is crisp and witty.The possessive, acute Mrs Gereth a wonderfully large creation;and the ending a satisfying moment of justice after a bitter climax.Recommended.

Not the Master's Strongest
I give this three stars in an internal world where 5 is James at his best. In comparison to most fiction the rating would be higher, but as a DEVOUT fan, I live in my own internal world. In that world, James who was more critical than any of us, would understand that in comparison to other later era work and even middle period work, Spoils does not live up to his best. It is fun and light, another reviewer mentioned obvious signs of a stylistic shift perhaps being too obvious here. That feels on the money to me. That said, if you've read almost everything, it is a light turn with the Master and that has something delicious in it no matter what.

Just this side of unreadable
Henry James, The Spoils of Poynton (Dell, 1897)

The Spoils of Ponyton is the first novel James wrote in his "later style," in other words, drawing-room satire that isn't really about much of anything at all. For some odd reason, later-era James is what's universally praised in lit classes around the globe, while the early stuff, which is actually worth reading, is largely ignored.

To be fair, James did get better at satire as time went on, but The Spoils of Ponyton has all the hallmarks of being a first attempt at a stylistic change. The novel centers on two characters who are utterly incapable of action, which wouldn't be so bad if the characters who were doing the acting were more involved. Such is, sadly, not the case. Owen and Fleda just sort of drift and react; as the book is told from Fleda's point of view, we end up with page after page of something that, in the hands of a better author (even a later James, had he re-written it) would have come off as uber-Tevye; weighing the various merits of various courses of action, not being able to decide on a course, and letting fate take her where it will. In Fiddler on the Roof, it works (largely because Tevye's monologues are brief and to the point); in Poynton, it blithers on endlessly, with all the fascination for the reader of watching cheese spoil.

If you're new to James, by all means do yourself a favor and start with something he wrote earlier in his career. Leave Poynton until after you've developed enough of a taste for James to pick up later-era works, and then read the major ones before diving into this. *

Fairly weak for James...
I read this one a few years ago, and I have to rank it at the bottom of the list (along with "The Europeans").

Though Fleda Vetch can be fascinating in a Hamlet-esque way (through her infuriating inability to act), this novel is far from a must-read as far as James goes.

A beautifully made parable
Fleda is gifted with sensitivity to beauty. She finds it in the "things" her friend Mrs. Gereth has spent a lifetime collecting and in Mrs. Gereth's son, Owen. If Fleda acted with even a touch of cunning -- or just acted, period -- she could possess both. James gives her many opportunities, but, for some maddening reason, she won't seize them. Why? James is at his enigmatic best in this tightly plotted tale written after his experiences as a playwright led him to show more and tell the reader less. ... Read more

Book Description
This terse and startling novel, written just before The Spoils of Poynton and What Maisie Knew,is the story of a struggle for possession—and of its devastating consequences. Three women seek to secure the affections of one man, while he, in turn, tries to satisfy them all. But in the middle of this contest of wills stands his unwitting and vulnerable young daughter. The savage conclusion of The Other House makes it one of the most disturbing and memorable of Henry James's depictions of the uncontrollable passions that lie beneath the polished veneer of civilized life.

Oh blest Other House, which gives me thus at every step a precedent, a divine little light to walk by... —Henry James ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A surprisingly quick read
It's hard to believe that James's theatrical turn of the late 19th century ended with his audience "booing" him off the stage.This novelized play reads quickly and delightfully.I've read more than twenty of his novels, and this was the quickest of them all.

The plot is simple enough (at least for James): two houses, apparently back to back, in Wilverley, a small English village, set the scene.One contains a widow, the other a young married couple.The young wife widows the young husband, and he becomes Wilverley's "most eligible bachelor," except for the fact that he promised his dying wife that he would never marry again, at least not during the life of his child.So somebody has to kill the child, right?

Enter James's genius for character.There's Paul, the huge, infinitely imperturbable son of the wealthy Mrs. Beever; the diminutive and impetuous Dennis Vidal; Tony Bream himself, a remarkably good-natured but insensitive fool; and the powerful Mrs. Beever, whose awful determination cows every one else before her.Like James's best writing, his characters become interesting on their own; his fictions become an opportunity to satisfy curiosity.I think that's what makes this book a "page-turner"; the characters are interesting enough that I want to know what's going to happen.

In the end, I suppose, what makes this book succeed is what would have made the dramatic version fail: James's endless fascination with the workings of the human mind must have become either painfully boring or just incomprehensible to a theatrical audience.However it came about, I recommend it unequivocally.

real, rounded characters
This book is a novelization of the play by the same name. And you can see the stageplay - the characters are continually coming and going - and there's stage business -all of which I think shows some stiffness - yet about half way through the novel I was startled at how much the characters were real, rounded - I could just about see them - they ached with life - I was always aware of the stage during the novel - the story itself is rather shocking - it's a mystery novel! - it's all very well done - it's short - and it's very psychological

Unexpected Page Turner--Timeless
I am impressed with The New York Review's revival of this unexpectedly non-Jamesian title. A truly unique James choice to bring back to life--it's been done so with a cover so compelling (I'm not a tradional James fan) Iopened the book which I found locally in a brick and mortar as they are nowcalled, book shop. The internet cannot do justice to the thoughtfulsophistication of this book's packaging. (But I can purchase another copyhere more easily!) The publisher's comments about the work were alsocompelling and complimentary to the cover art. The Other House is amystery, a detective story, a love triangle with more than three angles--atrue page turner--with a timelessly human plot and "modern"characters. Anyone thriller fan would be enchanted with it. And turningevery page, holding the book, is a sensory thrill. Paper, writing, art--allrepresentative of what any literary rebirth deserves. If it's worthbringing back--do it with quality, I say! They did--along with a wholemarvelous collection of equally intriguing books, with well written newintroductions. Good choices--the pieces themselves, the introductionauthors and the book artist designers. Truly timeless in all ways!

When does the movie come out?
A trusted friend sent me a copy of this new edition of The Other House, insisting that I'd enjoy it. It looked intriguing. I felt obligated to at least give it a try. I still trust the friend! I can't believe this is whatis known as a Classic. I thought they were all very boring. I couldn't waitto get back to this plot and I'd never have thought it was written in theuptight Victorian era. It's more like a movie special of the week or one ofthe top ten best selling novels. Read it then recommend it and impress yourfriends with your literary depth. ... Read more

Book Description
This brilliant satire of the women’s rights movement in America is the story of the ravishing inspirational speaker Verena Tarrant and the bitter struggle between two distant cousins who seek to control her. Will the privileged Boston feminist Olive Chancellor succeed in turning her beloved ward into a celebrated activist and lifetime companion? Or will Basil Ransom, a conservative southern lawyer, steal Verena’s heart and remove her from the limelight?

“The Bostonians has a vigor and blithe wit found nowhere else in James,” writes A. S. Byatt in her Introduction. “It is about idealism in a democracy that is still recovering from a civil war bitterly fought for social ideals . . . [written] with a ferocious, precise, detailed—and wildly comic—realism.”Download Description
Satirical novel by Henry James, published serially in Century Illustrated Magazine in 1885-86 and in book form in three volumes in 1886. It was one of the earliest American novels to deal--even obliquely--with lesbianism. Olive Chancellor, a Boston feminist in the 1870s, thinks she has found a kindred spirit in Verena Tarrant, a beautiful young woman who, though passive and indecisive, is a spellbinding orator for women's rights. Olive vies for Verena's attention and affections with Basil Ransom, a gracious but reactionary Confederate army veteran. Verena marries Basil and leaves Boston. The Bostonians is based on Alphonse Daudet's novel L'Evangeliste (1883); James transposed the work to Boston and to the milieu of the rising feminist movement ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

James In Top Form
In this outing, as with other of Henry James's novels, the reader will continually be bowled over by this author's knack for language, his absolute comfort at moving conceptual mountains (and plot) with precise bursts of verbal dynamite.

That said, James's zeal for describing his characters' psychological phenomena with scientific precision, can sometimes cause his books to bog down.James is sometimes simply incomprehensible -- he will be developing a thought, or a line of psychological action on the part of a character, and suddenly he will lose you in a welter of subordinate clauses and pronouns that seem to have become dis-lodged from their referents.This is a problem particularly in later James (which I would gloss as about 1885 onwards).

"The Bostonians" was written in 1885, so it is "early late" James, if such a designation may be used.The language is just beginning to move towards that absolute obscurantism which would become his primary mode of expression for "The Turn of the Screw" and "The Wings of the Dove", and away from the relative simplicity and relaxed wit of "The American".

Aside from the means of expression, James has probably never been cleverer about his portrayals of character.Depending upon your own opinions regarding feminism -- James's own are not made clear within the four corners of this book -- you will find Verena's self-created dilemma between her sense of duty to Olive (and her cause) and her feelings for Ransom to be comic, tragic, or an admixture of both.It is to James's eternal credit that he leaves such a question so open.

"The Bostonians" is like an old wine; you have to savor it, to mull over it a bit, pursing your lips at its complexities, sucking your teeth at its bitterness, smiling at last, with satisfaction over what you have just swallowed.

****... almost *****
"The Bostonians", a novel from the middle period of Henry James' writing career, was apparently not appreciated for a long time. It is, in a way, not surprising, because the criticism of his contemporaries is very acute there. It is good, however, that later on this novel got the praise, which it undoubtedly deserves.

Set in Boston of the end of nineteenth century, after the Civil War, the book tells the story of Verena Tarrant, a fresh, innocent young woman of extraordinary oratory talent. She is a daughter of a "mesmeric healer", who trains her for performance. Verena can captivate the audience with her speeches, not necessarily because of their content, but because of her beauty and appeal. During one of the early private shows, she gets the attention of Olive Chancellor, a slightly older woman devoted to the cause of feminism. She befriends Verena, takes her under her wing (paying her parents considerable sums of money) and trains her to give lectures about suffrage and the freedom of women, hoping to live with Verena continuously, forming what was then called a "Boston marriage" (James' sister formed such union with another woman).

Unfortunately for Olive, at the same show Verena catches the eye of her cousin from the Mississippi, Basil Ransom, a conservative lawyer and a veteran of the civil war from the Southern side.He wants to marry Verena, which means the betrayal of Olive's ideals...

James again succeeded in portraying the typical society members with irony and wit. Interestingly, the female characters prevail in this novel and each of them is unique - wealthy and educated, but stubborn and limited in her artificial want of progress Olive, natural, innocent and, ultimately, silly Verena, Mrs Adeline Luna, Olive's sister, who, being a merry widow, represents everything what Olive despises, old Miss Birdseye, a precursor of the women's movement (based on a real figure, Miss Elizabeth Peabody), or my favorite, Doctor Prance, who is really the personification of the ultimate goal of the movement (she is a professional, no-nonsense woman), but sees the absurdity of Olive's actions very clearly. The only fully developed male character in "The Bostonians" is Basil Ransom; the other few are merely sketched types (like Matthias Pardon, the journalist, Henry Burrage, the Harvard boy, or Selah Tarrant, Verena's father). There are also many such sketched female types, which give in total an extraordinary array of figures. All the main characters are very human, not being unanimously good or bad, but possessing multifaceted, complex personalities. They are also not undoubtedly likeable or despicable, however, Verena with all her faults is probably the nicest, and Olive the most pathetic (James seems rather critical of the feminist movement in the form described in his novel, seemingly treating it as a whim of idle women from the higher class and opposing them reasonable women like Dr Prance; despite the obvious achievements of the movement which we see now, there is something to his opinion).

The historical Boston (the action takes place mainly in the city and its suburbs, Cambridge, the home of Verena's parents, and Roxbury, where Miss Birdseye lives; Olive lives on Charles Street - all the locations are introduced with their social meaning of the time; apart from that some events take place in New York City and on Cape Cod) is described amazingly (the Oxford World's Classics edition has also a city plan at the end), which adds to the historical value of the novel. The only flaw for the modern reader, used to the fast action, may be the slow pace and many descriptions of places, emotions, characters - this is the book which should be tasted with pleasure, not rushed through.

Boston Was Full Of Feminists: But James Was Not One Of Them
By the time Henry James had written THE BOSTONIANS in 1886, he was well in his mid section of novel writing. Most of his "American" novels were done but in this one for the first time he chose to use the burgeoning feminist movement as a backdrop for the plot. There is nothing in the story to suggest that James carried a warm place in his heart for feminism. In fact in the character of Olive Chancellor, James seems only too delighted to point out the foilbles of this leader of Boston's feminist movement.

Henry James knew well the importance that Boston held to American political and social history. Olive Chancellor is a product of what she sees as the proud history of that city. She sees herself as the latest torchbearer of a school of thought that began with Thoreau and Emerson. And the latest sparkle to the torch is feminism. Olive is perceptive enough to recognize that she cannot carry the torch by herself so she seeks someone to whom she may safely pass it. This someone is Verena Tarrant, a young and attractive protege whose own flaws are totally unseen by Olive. To begin with, Verena is very much like an "unliberated" woman of today. She is hip, cool, and well-dressed, but she has no tradition of any sort behind her upon which Olive can build. Further, her chief goal in life is to get married, a distinctly unfeminine trait. Complicating Olive's incessant moralizing to Verena, Basil Ransom enters as a handsome lawyer who quickly falls for Verena and she for him. Basil is the male equivalent of Verena. He has scarcely a thought in his head that does not involve winning a case or winning Verena's heart. In the battle between Olive and Basil for the heart and soul of Verena, there is no contest. By the end of the novel, Basil literally sweeps and swoops Verena off her feet and out of town, leaving a disconsolate Olive to ponder her doleful future.

James slowly builds THE BOSTONIANS up to a crescendo of irony. When one considers how much time Olive has spent with Verena inculcating her with feminist thought, one would think that at least part of Olive's exuberance would have rubbed off. The very last page shows James at his ironic best. Basil is a typical macho man who expects his wife to be in the kitchen or the bedroom, without many other stops in between. When he sweeps Verena off her feet, she is at first glad that she chose Basil over Olive, but then "she was in tears. It is to be feared that with the union, so far from brilliant, into which she was about to enter, these were not the last she was destined to shed." The future for Verena contrapuntally indicates James' own ideas about the lasting power and effect of feminism upon impressionable female minds.

Insightful read.
This book is about a couple of women who help shine a light on women's rights movement in the 19th century. It takes place in New England. Henry James is an excellent writer. They way he digs into the minds of his characters really alows you to see them like as if you were their god. Read the book prior to watching the movie; it seemes to me that the movie comes off as a little obsessive; references to Ms. Chancellor come off homosexual and attached to Verena Tarrant which isn't true. The ending to the book and how Verena feels about the decision she has made will also suprise you because it will give you a deeper insight about the meaning for Verenas decision and her personal reflections whereas in the movie you really can't tell what she's thinking. Prior to reading the book, when I watched the movie, my feeling was that Henry James may have been synical about women and their sex but he isn't. Henry James empowers women allowing the world to see that even in the 19th century, when people thought that women were of very little use outside of the kitchen, that they are actually intellectual, brilliant and very insightful, as you may observe in his other works. He doesn't make his female characters look or act MAD but rather sincere.

Glad I stumbled on to this one
I picked this one up out of the bin because it sounded somewhat familiar.I would have never picked out a story that revolved around the women's' rights movement during the 19th century unless it was nonfiction.

This book is a treat through and through.The characters are deep, the language interesting and the prose witty.It has a very simple plot, but the journey is great.This was my first Henry James book, but after reading this one, will not hesitate to read another.James takes pride in his craftsmanship and we the readers benefit.Do yourself a favor and take a step back in time and read this one.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A good read about a not nice guy
Hammond is not a nice guy.He married for money, was not a great father, and campagined for elected office at time when no one else did and against the 'party' candidate to boot.Most interesting of all was his commitmentto the Confederate cause but resistance to the call for material andmanpower to help the cause.In the end, he could not believe it when hisslaves were jubilant about the prospect of freedom.Through Hammond's eyeswe see the south changed forever by the Civil War, not only due to the lostof their slaves but also by the unsouthern actions the Confederategovernment had to take and how they affected the southern way of life. Hammond is not a nice guy but this very readable book provides an excellentinsight to the antebellum southern mind. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1903 edition by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh; London. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Out of Print
I don't know why this volume is unavailable through Amazon, but new copies can be purchased directly via the Library of America website. ... Read more

Product Description
The chapters of which this volume is composed have with few exceptions already been collected, and were then associated with others commemorative of other impressions of (no very extensive) excursions and wanderings. ... Read more

Book Description
The Complete Notebooks of Henry James opens a clear window into the private workshop of America's master novelist.Leon Edel, James' highly-acclaimed award-winning biographer, and Lyall H. Powers, critic and editor of James' letters to Edith Wharton, have assembled and edited this
definitive volume.
It contains the nine scribbler-notebooks originally published by Oxford in 1947, with considerable updating and annotations that both correct the identification of stories developed by James from his various notes and reveal many noted Victorians whom he concealed through the use of initials.
Edel and Powers have also restored certain previously omitted portions of the notebooks, as well as including over 20,000 words of new material.This new material consists of a series of James' pocket diaries in which, amid appointments and luncheon dates, he jotted down observations and ideas for
his fiction and commented on his personal relations.They also provide some fugitive dictated notes, in which James offered an autobiographical meditation on the "turning point" in his life and the "working out" of a story based on a passion murder by an American aquaintance in the south of France.
That's not all; Edel and Powers also give us James' long out-of-print statements for his unfinished novels The Ivory Tower and The Sense of the Past, scenarios for unfinished plays, notes on his "cash accounts," and the writer's deathbed dictation, as well as a long outline of The Ambassadors
and jacket cover notes now identified as James' own writing.An appendix provides a substantial, and previously unpublished, fragment of Hugh Merrow, a story he never completed.Through all these collected writings never intended for the public eye, we see the artist at work.His private prayers
to his Muse and exhortations to himself make for exhilarating reading. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
With a new afterword by Michael Cunningham

What Catherine Sloper lacks in brains and beauty, she makes up for by being "very good." The handsome Morris Townsend would do anything to win her hand-even if it means pretending that he loves the homely ingénue, and cares nothing for her opulent wealth.Download Description
Inspired by a story Henry James heard at a dinner party, Washington Square tells how the rakish but idle Morris Townsend tries to win the heart of heiress Catherine Sloper against the objections of her father. Precise and understated, the book endures as a matchless social study of New York in the mid-nineteenth century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (49)

Both the Novella and the Film Adaptation are Quite Good
Nominally a story of young romance, Washington Square's plot actually pivots around two sharply defined characters: the young Catherine Sloper, honest and sweet, but embarrassingly average and plain, and her father, Dr. Austin Sloper, articulate and brilliant, but disturbingly cold-hearted and domineering. Henry James professed little liking for his early novel; through the years most readers have ignored his opinion.

The writings of Henry James, especially his later novels, are notable (some might say, infamous) for using lengthy, digressive sentence structures for exploring complex emotional and psychological motivations. Slow paced plots play a subordinate role to nuanced, subtle, ambiguous characterizations. Contrastingly, Washington Square's popularity most likely stems from its straight-forward plot, some suspense, and sharply defined characters.

Catherine was an only child; her mother and baby brother died of complications during childbirth. Years later Dr. Sloper is still grieved and angered by the loss of his beautiful, vivacious, and witty wife. Despite Catherine's love and admiration for him, Dr. Sloper remains distant and cold, viewing Catherine's social ineptness as an ironic parody of his deceased wife.

When the young, handsome, articulate Morris Townsend shows interest in Catherine, Dr. Sloper immediately concludes that his only interest is her wealth, and moves quickly to break them apart. Matters are complicated by Catherine's silly, meddlesome, and manipulative aunt (Mrs. Penniman, the widowed sister of Dr. Sloper) who functions as an uninvited go-between for the two young lovers. Dr. Sloper remains quite confident in his own judgment, but in the early stages of their romance we readers remain uncertain ofTownsend's motivation.

My fascination with Washington Square centered not on whether Townsend was genuinely in love with Catherine, but with the way in which Catherine revealed her inner strength in managing her increasingly strained relationship with her insensitive father and in how she ultimately comes to terms with the duplicity of her lover. Washington Square may not have achieved the full psychological subtlety and complexity desired by Henry James, but it is far from a simple, superficial tale of bitter sweet romance.

Washington Square on film: I highly recommend Washington Square, a 1997 production that features Jennifer Jason Leigh as Catherine, Albert Finney as Dr. Sloper, Ben Chaplin as Morris Townsend, and Maggie Smith as Catherine's aunt. This casting is superb, with all four characterizations faithful to the novel.

There are a few unnecessary scenes, however, that portray Catherine as overly clumsy and inept. Also, Morris Townsend on occasion is unrealistically effusive in his praise and admiration. A little more of Henry James's subtlety and nuance would have been better. Washington Square was directed by Agnieszka Holland.

Washington Square in print: This novella is widely available in various anthologies, or published alone, in inexpensive paperbacks from Signet Classics, Penguin Classics, and others. I particularly like a Simon and Schuster, hard cover edition (ISBN 0-684-81911-2) with 16 pages of high quality, black and white historical photographs, many belonging to the Museum of the City of New York historical collection.

Washington Square
Washington Square is a compact, tightly constructed story that focuses with almost unwavering gaze upon the Sloper family, or more particularly, on Catherine Sloper, a sweet, ordinary, rather dull young lady who falls in love with a man her father is convinced loves her purely for the inheritance she stands to gain upon his death.This early novel of Henry James' alternates between biting, witty exchanges amongst the characters and introspective, sensitive exploration of the feelings and thoughts of Catherine and her father.The narrator - never named, though at times he is quite chatty towards the reader - chooses not to take sides, instead displaying the different facets of each character as they are, leaving questions of personality and intent up to the reader.

It is usual in a novel involving a young lady and a potentially disastrous suitor that the female in question be beautiful, intelligent, resourceful, kind - even if she doesn't know it.These stories tend to follow her development from innocent to experienced, which is one of the many reasons why Washington Square plays out so differently.Catherine is, we are told, 'not ugly; she had simply a plain, dull, gentle countenance.The most that had ever been said for her was that she had a "nice" face'.Later, her father compares Catherine's intelligence to that of a bundle of shawls.He often laments Catherine's lack of qualities, and so does Catherine, and so does everyone else.She is a submissive, almost subservient in her attitudes, willing to submerge her ideas - if she has any - and bend with the will of her father.Enter love, however, and slowly a change begins to take place.

Morris Townsend is the man Catherine falls for.She had never experienced the interest of a male before, indeed, her life seems to have been somewhat sheltered.When Morris enters her life Catherine's father, Dr Sloper, who never had much hope for his daughter, becomes determined to prevent them from marrying.Sloper is the type of father who wishes a specific future for his child, so they will 'be happy', and yet when their happiness chooses a different direction, they become stubborn, obstinate, and, in this case, quite hurtful and damaging.

Neither Morris nor Dr Sloper are particularly admirable characters.Granted, both are intelligent and even charming, with the novel's most enjoyable moments coming from the interaction between the two.They snipe at one another during their very clever exchanges where epigrams fly and bon mots are thrown about with abandon.However, Morris is shown - rather bluntly - to be interested in Catherine's money and not herself, which he finds tiresome, and Dr Sloper is concerned with breaking the tiny backbone that has emerged from he knows not where within Catherine's heart.

Do we love Catherine?Is that the intent of this novel?The answer is - no.Catherine truly is plain, in the sense that there isn't much to her.She is confused by the larger forces in her life which seem to determine the direction of her future without any real input from herself.She believes that both Morris and her father have her best interests at heart, even when it is clear to the reader they do not.Whenever poor Catherine dares to speak her mind, Morris or her father are ready and willing to stamp it down.Her father can be quite manipulative.After asking Catherine to give Morris away, he says, 'Have you no faith in my wisdom, in my tenderness, in my solicitude for your future?', and later, when she stands by her man, he asks, 'You make nothing of my judgment, then?'Poor Catherine is left to wonder what to think, when all she knows is she loves her father and wants to marry Morris.

During the course of the novel, Catherine develops attitudes which distinctly reject her father's plans, but she also, to the surprise of Morris, refuses to go along with everything he says, either.There is a clear impression throughout the work that, should she choose Morris, she will be exchanging one master for another - the names may change, but the overall life of Catherine will not.

Henry James is known for his dense - some call it impenetrable - prose, and for his fondness for deeply exploring the inner workings of his characters.Washington Square is slightly different to his others works in this regard, perhaps because it is an earlier novel.The prose can be quite circumlocutory, with multiple clauses embedded within a single sentence, long rambling comma filled descriptions and niceties of expression that seem to exist purely to avoid stating the blunt truth of the matter.But it is these techniques which serve also to highlight the confusing world around Catherine, and the difficulty she finds in untangling the intention of the two very strong men who wish to control her life.James, at his best, is a phenomenal writer, and happily for the reader of Washington Square he is completely in charge of the material.The narrator is confident in expressing the feelings and thoughts of the major and minor characters, using tact, grace, eloquence and insight to create his little portraits.

Whether or not Catherine will marry Morris and defy her novel, though an important part of the novel, is not the primary thrust of James' work.It seems clear from the outset the direction the story will take, and this initial belief becomes true.Where the strengths of the story lie is in the growing independence of Catherine, her understanding of herself as a person capable of expressing intent and determining the direction of her life by herself.Catherine is an innocent in a world which is, invariably, destructive towards such people.She learns this the hard way, but there is something undeniably 'Catherine' that remains, even to the bitter end.Washington Square, while not a masterpiece on the level of The Portrait of a Lady, nevertheless explores its theme well, and does so with an assured hand.Catherine's life, though somber and small by today's standards, does evoke sympathy within the reader.The final line is very sad, because it was inevitable, and because, deep down, the reader knows that it is the best life Catherine could have had.

"You Can't Please Your Father and Me Both; You Must Choose Between Us..."
Although Henry James is best known for The Portrait of a Lady (Penguin Classics), this slender volume of a young woman's lifetime is one that resonates for the oddest reasons. With a protagonist who is entirely passive, a plot that is somewhat uneventful and a cast of supporting characters that are entirely unsympathetic, "Washington Square" is a novel that encapsulates a life hardly worth reading about. Paradoxically, that is precisely why it should be read, and why it's so surprisingly memorable.

Catherine Sloper is shy, plain, dull and a little slow in her studies. Her mother was none of these things, leaving her somewhat of a disappointment to her father, an accomplished and well-respected doctor, a man who Catherine adores and longs to please. Well aware of her spiritless nature, Catherine is astonished when she receives the attention of the handsome and charming Morris Townsend, and is soon devotedly in love with her new suitor. Encouraged by her romantic and foolish Aunt Lavinia Penniman, Catherine accepts Morris's proposal of marriage. Unfortunately, her father is not at all impressed by the match, (believing Morris to be a mercenary after her dowry) and forbids Catherine from seeing him on the threat of disinheritance. Torn between the two most important people in her life, the listless and confused Catherine decides to wait. But will her beloved wait for her, or is she deceived by his true intentions?

Catherine's complete ordinariness is what makes her special within the context of the novel, as I am hard-pressed to think up another heroine who is so uncommonly common. Though she is a pleasant enough person, there is nothing remotely interesting to her, save the predicament she finds herself in. Her situation is frustrating to behold, as the poor girl is torn between her intelligent, infallible father and her charming, loving fiancée. Although her father has his daughter's best interests at heart, he handles the affair with such practicality and stubbornness that his crusade against Townsend eventually dwindles into a battle of will between himself and his daughter, and then petty revenge and one-upmanship. Likewise, though Morris Townsend seems faithful and loving, declaring that he has no interest in Catherine's inheritance whatsoever, we cannot shake a sense of untrustworthiness in him. Despite Catherine's plainness, you can't help but feel that neither man deserves her.

To be privy to Catherine's inner struggles is to witness a tiny and insignificant life within literature, with none of the romance, passion or tragedy of Lizzie Bennett, Tess Durbeyfield, Cathy Earnslaw, Jane Eyre, or any other literary heroine that comes to mind. Although Mrs Penniman alleviates some of the gloom with her far-flung intrigues and romances, her presence ultimately brings more harm that good to her young charge. Catherine is a woman who suffers in silence, without witness or companionship, a testimony to how passive-aggressiveness, lost opportunities and selfishness can destroy the life of one who has no means of fighting back. Every single individual on earth would like to believe that they are special, unique and important in some way, and the mediocrity of a life ill-spent becomes quite terrifying by the close of the novel. Catherine's attempts to assert some control over her father and her suitor are pitiful to behold, though they are victories, they are tiny ones within the context of her life. It's almost as if James uses Catherine as a vessel for every individual who has simply "misplaced" their life, and the emptiness that follows those who don't have the means, strength or fortitude to fight against those that hold them in sway. Make sure it never happens to you.

a classic American tale of parents and children
Eloquently composed by a master of the World and American novel, Henry James, WASHINGTON SQUARE is a revelatory , painful study of wealth, prestige, and social discrimination in mid nineteenth century New York.Quite possibly James' masterpiece, it poignantly depicts with sympathy and intellectual blindnessthe a father's oppressing memory of his dead wife upon his innocent, frail and oblivious daughter.The daughter, Catherine Sloper, has become an iconic chatacter in American dramatic literature and film due to James' superficial description of her awkwardness coupled with the arrival of her wit, ruthlessness, spirit and clever sensibility after she is jilted by her fiancee.A remarkable study of how parents unknowingly deprive children of love and nurturing though their grief and personal disappointment.

A pleasure
Washington Square is a pleasure to read.Best of all is Henry James' lush prose; his ethereal descriptions of characters and their emotional states and feelings towards others is peerless - and beautiful, and often funny in a stylistic sense.The novel itself functions as an expostition of human greed and the need for control, physically and emotionally.The four focal characters are all well drawn, and because of that their more despicable natures come forward.The naive Catherine; her father, the overbearing Dr. Sloper; his sister, the officious Mrs. Penniman; and the greedy, and lazy, Morris Townsend, ostensibly interested in Catherine only for her, and her father's, money.There is plenty of scheming and posturing by all four of them, and any more words from me will spoil the novel.Also amusing, is the dated sensibilities of the characters; but it all adds up to an enjoyable novel by an American master. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1903 edition by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh; London. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1903 edition by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh; London. ... Read more

Book Description

"A good up-to-date one-volume life of Henry James was long overdue; Fred Kaplan... has done the job splendidly with Henry James: The Imagination of Genius... Here, at last, is a thoughtful, balanced book to give us a consistent and persuasive account of the writer's life and his development as an author." -- Miranda Seymour, New York Times Book Review

One of the most influential novelists, Henry James led a life that was as rich as his writing. Born into an eccentric and difficult family, he left the United States for Europe, where he quickly became a fixture of the expatriate writing community. Fred Kaplan recreates the world of Henry James: his friendships with Edith Wharton and Joseph Conrad, his love of all things exquisite--including exquisite writing--and his quest for understanding human nature. As James himself advocated and would have wanted, this is an artful, dramatic biography, placing the chronological narrative of James's life in the historical context of his times.

"The twenty-one-year-old Henry James, Jr., preferred to be a writer rather than a soldier. His motives for writing were clear to himself, and they were not unusual: he desired fame and fortune. Whatever additional enriching complications that were to make him notorious for the complexity of his style and thought, the initial motivation remained constant. Deeply stubborn and persistently willful, he wanted praise and money, the rewards of recognition of what he believed to be his genius, on terms that he himself wanted to establish. The one battle he thought most worth fighting was that of the imagination for artistic expression. The one empire he most coveted, the land that he wanted for his primary home, was the empire of art." -- from Henry James: The Imagination of Genius

Customer Reviews (2)

amusing and wrongheaded
Fred Kaplan is a determined Freudian. His greatest joy appears to be linking James's novels, stories, and plays to his quasi-sexual relationships with his family. This is not entirely implausible, given the sexual oddness of most of the James clan. However, Kaplan could have written a much shorter and more engaging book had he refrained from prurient speculation that rarely adds anything to the elegance of James's work. He ought to have played to his strengths -- a devoted scholar of James's correspondence, he's pulled many amusing and enlightening bits from the great volume of letters James left behind. Particularly good fun are James's judgments on fellow writers like George Eliot and Flaubert. Who knew the creator of such beauties as Isabel Archer was so good at describing ugliness? For celebrity snark, circa 1910, check out "The Imagination of Genius." But for a decent biography, stick with "Henry James: A Life" by Leon Edel.

Henry James Not Seen
I've read a considerablenumberof Fred Kaplan's articles,
and am impressed by his insightful writing.Ialwayscome
awaywiththesensethathereis not only a thoughtful
writer, but also a good guy.So I bought his biographies of
Dickens and Henry James, andreadJames first.

It took me until page 387 to finally get holdofwhatwas
thematterwiththisbiography. IfI'mon, it's very
simple.Kaplan doesn'tlikeJames. Hedoesn't like the
man. Hedoesn'tevenseem to like James's works
particularly, or certainly as much as a Professor of English
wouldbe expected to like them.Or if he does, he's hiding
it pretty well. Onlyoccasionallydoesone see any real
appreciation of James's works.There isrelativelylittle
positive discussion of the luminous language,the
intertwinedsubtleties,the profundityofempathyand
insight,theremarkableevocationoftimeand place.
James'svariousstories,andeventhe great novels, are
dealtwithlargelyinterms of how much money James made
fromeach,orwhich of his familyorfriendsare
characterized there.

Buttheproblem isn't one of weak or wrong-headed literary
criticism. Itseems,rather, tobeoneofpersonal
antipathy.That is pretty odd, to say the least,sinceit
isdifficulttoimagine someone deciding to write a major
work on a major figurewithout at least a reasonable degree
of admirationandpersonalregardfortheman. Here,
instead,there is a strange undercurrent of resentment that
colors and shapes the slant, the emphasis, the
interpretationsofarangeofJames'sexperiencesand
choices.It isn't the resentmentof envy for the genius of
James's work.It doesn't seem to be about the work atall.
Rather,itseemstobeabout the way James chose to
live his life.There'snoroom here to carefully document
it, but I think a reader can readily see it by watchingfor
quotationsfrom a letter or note of James, and then looking
for Kaplan's tiny, very slightly jarring negative spin, each
tiny distortion piled on top ofthe last until, after a few
hundred pages or so, what's going onbecomesclearer.

Ihadread Toibin's graceful novel on James, which made me
want to read next a scholarly biography that told more about
the lifeofthisgentle,refinedmanwhosebeautyof
language reveals, with brilliant precision, what is actually
happeningbeneath the surfaces.I wanted to be able to see
more clearlywhatJamessaw. Kaplan'sbookisn't that
biography.I'm reading the classic work by LeonEdel,and
things are much better now.

I hope Kaplan likes Dickens. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Book Description
In this classic collision of the New World with Old Europe, James weaves a fable of thwarted desire that shifts between comedy, tragedy, romance, and melodrama.Download Description
He performed this ceremony on the following day, when, by appointment, Christopher Newman went to dine with him. Mr. and Mrs. Tristram lived behind one of those chalk-colored facades which decorate with their pompous sameness the broad avenues manufactured by Baron Haussmann in the neighborhood of the Arc de Triomphe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

The American is an early Henry James masterpiece
Henry James lived most of his life in Europe. When he was 36 years old
he wrote a novel about an American millionaire named Chrisopher Newman who was also 36. The novel of manners opens in Paris where Christopher
(named for Christopher Columbus) is enjoying his fortune, visiting art galleries and looking for a suitable wife. The Civil War veteran is a non-intellectual who is a version of an innocent abroad. He will join the countless characters in Jamesian fictions who are innocent Americans dealing with the old world culture of European sophistication.
Through a friend Mrs. Tristam he meets the Bellegard family. He falls in love with the enigmatic Claire Bellegarde courting her for several months. She agrees and then refuses to wedhim. Claire retreats to a nunnery in Paris. Claire had been "sold" by her family to the rich and old man Cintre but he has died. She is used as a pawn by her evil mother and odious older brother. The reader will learn why she rejects Newman, the secret of the Bellegarde family and gain an appreciate of what society was like in the 1870s in Paris.
A secondary plot deals with the young Valentin Bellegarde who fights a duel over a prostitute. He befriends Newman introducing him to his formidable mother and brother.
The book is very understandable "The American"is not like the later James works of
"The Wings of the Dove, "The Ambassadors", and "The Golden Bowl" with their dense prose and convoluted pyschological style of probing the consciousness of the major characters.
Henry James was a genius who sought to understand the human heart. In this novel of 1876 the master has produced a fine book. This book is a good introduction to the world of James. Recommended.

When Man Meets Woman, and Money and Social Status Clash . . .
What does a confident, energetic, single, self-made American millionaire do after amassing a fortune while still in his thirties?In the case of Christopher Newman, the good-natured, optimistic protagonist in Henry James' The American (published 1877), our hero (as James labels him) takes his money and makes on an extended visit to Europe, in search of culture, amusement and excitement to complement his exceedingly practical commercial past.The primary storyline centers on Newman's tireless efforts to marry a French woman, Claire, who is the woman of his dreams.Although the relationship goes passably well at first, despite obvious differences between Newman's straightforward American ways and Claire's aristocratic family, events abruptly take a turn for the worse about two-thirds of the way through the novel.Ultimately, Newman's "commercial side" is too much for the class-conscious Bellegardes to bear, and Claire is forced to reject Newman and retreat to the confines of a nunnery.

For anyone with an interest in understanding the clash of American and European society, values and culture, particularly in the late 19th century, The American is a worthwhile read.While the language and style of the work are at times a bit tedious, James' classic novel succeeds in elevating a common literary theme--man meets woman--onto a higher, more expansive cross-cultural stage.Though a happier resolution may have made for a more popular work of fiction, the realistic, less romanticized ending, with Newman pensive and melancholic and Claire cloistered away and out-of-touch in the nunnery, is exemplary of our universal human condition--a bittersweet affair in which openness and honesty do not necessarily win out over the inevitable prejudices, societal norms and sometimes even ill intentions of others.

One element of the story that I was hoping to find but did not was at least an inkling of how Newman, Claire, the Bellegardes or any other character in the novel go about finding a sense of "deeper meaning" in life.Newman has money but seeks an ideal wife.Claire appears to have the choice of marrying but is really being controlled by her family and ends up seeking solace (and maybe even emotional freedom?) in religion.The Bellegarde family have social status but are too embroiled in internal strife to be content.Beyond his cross-cultural (American versus European) social commentary, could James also be hinting that neither money, nor status, nor family, nor religion can bring us lasting satisfaction?If not any of the above, toward what higher objective should we all--individuals and societies alike---spend our waking hours striving toward?

Why Read Henry James?
Why read Henry James? He can be quite difficult, and his 19th century world was so very different from ours... or was it?This novel, among other things,poses an eternally relevant question: Can money buy everything? Like Edith Wharton, young Henry James wasfascinated by the precise effects of wealth, power and social position on interpersonal relationships.He gives us a character, Christopher Newman, who he calls"a powerful specimen of an American" - a tall, handsome, charming, intelligent self-made businessman of incredible personal wealth. He comes to Europe to find the one thing he hasn't got -- a perfect wife, "the best article in the market."He settles in Paris and is befriended by The Tristams, two unhappily married expatriates.The husband is too much of a boor for Newman to tolerate much, but he develops a friendship with Mrs. Tristam, who claims she knows the perfect woman for Newman: a widow from a semi-impoverished aristocratic family.Claire de Cintre is everything Newman is looking for, and he falls in love during a slow courtship consisting of chilly fireside teas with her creepy family, who make it clear that he is a totally undesirable suitor, in spite of his vast wealth. The mere fact that he has had to WORK for his money renders him too "vulgar" to even consider marrying into a family with the blood of archdukes, no matter how hard up they are.It's seriously strange to even imagine a world where great wealth could be seriously second-guessed in such a way. Yet James seems to suggest there is something laudable in even such extreme snobbery. "I must say, to give the Devil his due, there is something rather fine in that...They wanted your money, but they have given you up for an idea." James, an expatriate himself, foresaw the 20th century American Empire and the triumph of pure filthy lucre over corrupt aristocracy, and (also like Edith Wharton)he was ambivalent about it.This is an early James and easier to read, and much less complex, than his later greater novels like "Portrait of a Lady" and "Wings of the Dove."But it's worth the modicum of effort, because the ending of the story hints at his potential for deeper psychological subtlety and ambiguity. Did Mrs. Tristam deliberately set Newman up with a woman she knew was unavailable because she was in love with him herself? And how much did that very unattainability influence Newman's attraction?"I don't believe you would have been happy... I wanted very much to see, first, whether such a marriage could actually take place; second, what would happen if it should take place." --"Say I should have been miserable then; it's a misery I should have preferred to any happiness."

A Showcasing of New and Old Worldviews
In The American, Henry James attempts to convey the differences between the market-driven republicanism of the United States and the monarchical traditions of Old Europe (France in particular).It seems that whenever anyone explores differences, stereotypes precipitate from the mix, and even the careful craft of Henry James is subject to this law of language.Yet one gets the sense that James is aware that presuming to accurately describe actual differences carries with it the risk of proscribing inferred differences.Thus, the novel seems to be more about the act of writing about differences - and not just nineteenth century differences - than anything else.

At the end of The American, neither "side" truly wins or loses in any definite sense, and this becomes emblematic of Modernity - the inability (futility?) inherent in attempting to reconcile past traditions with new ideas.Ezra Pound's mantra, "make it new," gave a center to Modernism, and The American shows us that the desire for newness inherently involves negotiations with the past: Those who carry old traditions desire to render their time-worn customs as eternally of the present while those seeking new ideas must remember the ideas of the past so as to break from them.The overwhelming questions remain: When should one drop outdated customs in favor of something new, and how can one recognize traditions worth keeping?

Beauty and the Beast

This is about a successful American businessman in his thirties who leaves the USA, having made his fortune in copper and railroads, to travel around Europe and to find a wife.He encounters an old friend in the Louvre who takes him home and introduces him to his own interesting wife.Mrs. Tristram takes Christopher happily under her wing, absorbs him into her circle of friends, and tells him of an old friend who'd be just the perfect wife for him - a young and beautiful widowed countess of unimpeachable descent.Christopher meets Claire de Cintré and from that moment his one obsession is to marry her.

An attractive hero, he possesses remarkable talents.In fact he has pretty well every virtue except exalted antecedents; he is, for example, tall, good-looking, urbane, well-mannered, forthright, intelligent, thoughtful, considerate, persistent, good-natured, generous and rich.At their first meeting he conquers Claire sufficiently to be allowed to continue to visit her, instead of being shown the door.Actually, his dogged audacity is pretty amazing; he simply asks her to marry him after about the fifth meeting, because he wants everything to be above-board.She says No and he promises not to mention the matter for another six months.He then succeeds in making a bargain with her mother and brother, the most rigid and narrow dyed-in-the-wool aristocrats, that they will not stand in his way or say anything against him until she accepts his hand.Marquise and marquis make no secret of their dislike of him ("a commercial person"), nor of their horror and disgust at the entire proposition.These are two different worlds.Christopher is aware of it but is confident that their differences can be overcome; after all he is very rich and he knows this is important to them.He sees no reason why sensible individuals would not agree in time to a straightforward and sensible offer.

Matters seem to proceed well or better than can be expected, and when the six months are up Claire graciously accepts Christopher's proposal.A dramatic turn of events, however, obstructs their happy plans.

Henry James is a joy for those who like a sedate plot to unfold slowly, carefully and thoroughly.His psychological observations are minute; his characters drawn with deftest strokes, and one or two lighter subplots fill out the general late-Victorian picture.Bigoted aristocrats, unprincipled upstarts, impulsive young noblemen, impassive secret-keepers, loquacious duchesses, these and many other finely-drawn characters fill the pages of this enthralling story.
... Read more