Henry James: Daisy Miller * Washington Square * Portrait of a Lady * The Bostonians * The Aspern Papers

by Henry James

Henry James looked at his society-its rules and foibles-with a sharp, unsparing eye. Shifting from America to Europe, the new world and the old, he saw how rigid conventions could destroy lives and happiness. Five of James's classic, richly textured novels, in their entirety, present a cast of indelible characters and Daisy Miller , the tragic tale of an innocent young American girl in Rome; Washington Square , set in the heartless upper crust of James's native New York; The Portrait of a Lady , the master craftsman's acknowledged masterpiece; The Bostonians , a tart, high comedy about marriage and nascent feminism; and The Aspern Papers , about an editor's desperate attempts to get hold of letters by a romantic poet to his mistress--who has no intention of giving them up.

896 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1888

About the author

Henry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daisy Miller: Air-headed wannabe socialite, shrewd social climber, or misunderstood 'modern gal'? Winterbourne isn't sure and nor am I. What I do know is that Daisy was described solely through the eyes of the male protagonist and almost exclusively by reference to her looks and 'charms'. I found this a little frustrating, but at only 50 pages this tale was short enough for me to persevere.

Washington Square: Yet another female character described almost solely based on her looks and how she's a source of disappointment to the male lead, in the this case her father. Dr Sloper found his daughter Catherine disappointing from birth: second born (the first, a male, having died at a young age - no spoilers, it happens in the first two pages); female ('an inadequate substitute'); and responsible shortly thereafter for her mother's death (of course the fault of the infant who didn't choose to be born rather than poor medical knowledge of the time or a lack of skill on the part of her doctor husband). Catherine is apparently plain - particularly when compared to her mother - unremarkable and not much of a prospect. After about 20 pages of this, I became too frustrated to continue and gave up on Henry James.

I don't know if James's view of women was a sign of the times or if the author just doesn't think women are worth more than their looks, marriageability or value in the eyes of a man. I believe Portrait of a Lady is far better but at this point I couldn't take any more. Will reshelve and consider trying again another time.

[Isla McKetta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Admittedly I skipped most of The Bostonians because I was so weary of James after reading The Portrait of a Lady. I did enjoy The Alpern Papers, though. Either way, I think I'll always be team Wharton because her details seem well placed rather than exhaustive and she lets me put myself into the story a little by reading into the characters rather than reporting all the inner thoughts of all the characters. Lesson learned for my own writing (I hope).

[Concha Marcos · Rating 3 out of 5]

El viejo mundo y la rigidez de sus costumbres frente a una cierta relajación y frivolidad de la nueva América están analizadas con un ojo sútil pero crítico en esta pequeña que también habla de felicidad, desdicha, amor y muerte.