From Boston's social underworld emerges Verena Tarrant, a girl with extraordinary oratorical gifts, which she deploys in tawdry meeting-houses on behalf of "the sisterhood of women." She acquires two admirers of a very different stamp: Olive Chancellor, devotee of radical causes and marked out for tragedy; and Basil Ransom, a veteran of the Civil War who holds rigid views concerning society and women's place therein. Is the lovely, lighthearted Verena made for public movements or private passions? A struggle to possess her, body and soul, develops between Olive and Basil. The exploitation of Verena's unregenerate innocence reflects a society whose moral and cultural values are failing to survive the new dawn of liberalism and democracy. When it was first published in 1886, The Bostonians was not welcomed by Henry James's fellow countrymen, who failed to appreciate its delicacy and wit. But over a century later, this book is widely regarded as James's finest American fiction and perhaps his comic masterpiece.
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"This was the first "classic" after "Crime and Punishment" that kept me glued to the book until I finished. The love story of Olive and Venera is very tenderly told, and the ending is one of the most suspenseful and brutal I've ever read--surprising for a James' novel. " — Megan (5 out of 5 stars)
"This was the first "classic" after "Crime and Punishment" that kept me glued to the book until I finished. The love story of Olive and Venera is very tenderly told, and the ending is one of the most suspenseful and brutal I've ever read--surprising for a James' novel. "
" Definitely not my favorite Henry James. Long (dry) descriptive passages made it hard to get through, and it was pretty predictable, and unrealistic. But perhaps that was the point? "
" Audio version read by Xe Sands "
" A slow read. Like Proust. The battle between Olivia and her cousin Ransom for the soul of Verena. Olivia wants her for the advancement of women's rights. Ransom wants her for love. He wins. "
" I am not a Henry James fan. "
" Wasn't my thing. I got about 35 pages in and still hadn't gotten into it with no hope in sight of a chance of it. On to the next book. :) "
" Henry James, is a bastard "
" thiiiick. it's refreshing to emerge from the swampy male witch territory known as Faulkner and the ominous doom tones of Conrad's Heart of Darkness into the cold dry logic of Henry James. yea. "
Henry James (1843–1916), American novelist, short-story writer, and man of letters, was born in Washington Place, New York, to a family of distinguished philosophers and theologians. He attended schools in New York, Boston, and throughout Europe, where he later settled. A major figure in the history of the novel, he is celebrated as a master craftsman who brought his great art and impeccable technique to bear in the development of abiding moral themes.
Xe Sands has more than a decade of experience bringing stories to life through narration, performance, and visual art, including recordings of the Nightwalkers series from Jaquelyn Frank. She has received several honors, including AudioFile Earphones Awards and a coveted Audie Award, and she was named Favorite Debut Romance Narrator of 2011 in the Romance Audiobooks poll.
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