Physical description

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 Letters

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

The label on the spine cover with typed text PAT 813.4 JAM
Paste down front end paper has a sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library
Front loose end paper has a sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Service
Front loose end paper has a stamp from Corangamite Regional Library Service
Flyleaf has a stamp from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library

Summary

This 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.