Henry James

After the death of her father, Isabel Archer, a young American woman, travels to England to stay with her aunt, where she finds herself an object of affection for several men. When she is left a large legacy by her ailing uncle, she also attracts the attention of those with an interest in her substantial fortune. Faced with decisions about her future, Isabel must live with the consequences of the choices she makes, as her life is forever altered. The...

A young governess turns up at a country estate in Essex to care for Miles and Flora, two young orphans left in care of their absentee uncle. Soon after her tenure begins, the governess begins to see strangers walking the grounds, and interacting with the siblings in odd and disturbing ways. The governess begins to feel they are not wholly human-but rather are ghosts haunting Miles and Flora, and their influence upon the children has tragic consequences....

The Wings of the Dove, by Henry James, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: • New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars • Biographies of the authors • Chronologies of...

What Maisie Knew is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Chap-Book and in the New Review in 1897 and then as a book later that year. It tells the story of the sensitive daughter of divorced, irresponsible parents. The book follows the title character from earliest childhood to precocious maturity. When Beale and Ida Farange are divorced, the court decrees that their only child, the very young Maisie, will shuttle back and forth...

Two European siblings travel to New England to meet their American cousins in this classic satire. Henry James's short novel The Europeans, which made its debut in serial form in the Atlantic Monthly, is the beloved tale of Eugenia Münster and her brother, Felix Young, who travel to Boston after having spent most of their lives in France, Italy, Spain, and Germany. At the heart of the story rest the concerns that most intrigued the iconic author:...

"One of the great masterpieces of James's late period--and the author's own favorite among his works. EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY. First published in 1903, The Ambassadors follows the middle-aged Lambert Strether, dispatched from Massachusetts to Paris by his wealthy fiancee to "rescue" her son Chad from the corrupting influences of Europe and its wicked women. Once Strether arrives in Paris, however, Chad introduces him to a world that he finds refined and...

The Awkward Age Henry James - The Awkward Age is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in Harper's Weekly in 1898-1899 and then as a book later in 1899.Making her debut in London society, Nanda Brookenham is being groomed for the marriage market. Thrust suddenly into the superficial circle that surrounds her mother, the innocent but independent-minded young woman even finds herself in competition with Mrs Brookenham for the affection...

Mrs. Gareth is the widowed chatelaine of Poynton. She is fighting to keep her house with its priceless objets d'art from her son Owen and his lovely, but utterly philistine fiancee. When she discovers that her young friend Fleda Vetch is secretly in love with Owen, she thrusts Fleda into the battle line. The power struggle between the three women leaves Owen vacillating. Fleda risks betraying, and being betrayed by, all that she holds most dear.

A Bundle of Letters is a comic short story by Henry James, originally published in The Parisian magazine in 1879, which is also when the story takes place. The story is one of James' few ventures into epistolary fiction. As he did so often, especially in the early stages of his career, James made the tale part of his international theme: his letter-writers represent a number of different countries. Although some of the characters look like well-worn...