Washington Square Author: Henry James Jr Publisher: MacMillian & Co Date: 1881 Further Information: Blue cloth hardcover and spine with spine lettering in gilt. Cover & spine have black patterned strip edged with gilt. The spine has a Library label with inscription. Book has 3 parts 1. Washington Square 2. The Pension Beaurepas 3. A Bundle of LettersfictionThis volume compiles three distinct early works by Henry James that explore his signature theme of the clash of social manners, money, and personal integrity. Set in 1840s New York City, the masterpiece Washington Square follows Catherine Sloper, a plain, introverted heiress. She is caught between her cold, brilliant father, Dr Austin Sloper, who often views his daughter with disappointment and contempt, and Morris Townsend, a charming but penniless suitor whom the doctor rightly suspects is a mercenary fortune-hunter. It is a devastating, brilliantly controlled story about emotional manipulation and dignity. The second story, The Pension Beaurepas, is a comic yet biting sketch set at a boarding house in Geneva, Switzerland. It satirizes the 'American abroad', focusing on wealthy American tourists and the stark cultural differences between the Old World and the New. The third story, A Bundle of Letters, is an epistolary short story told entirely through letters, featuring a cast of international guests staying at a Paris hotel. Each letter writer reveals their own cultural biases, blind spots, and vanity.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, book, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, washington square, henry james jr