Penguin Classics Bostonians: Amazon.ca: Henry James, Richard Lansdowne: Books

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“As devastating in its wit as it is sharp in its social critique of sexual politics. No writer in America had dared the subject before. No one has done it so well since.” —The New Republic --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Book Description

Published in 1886, "The Bostonians" begins with the arrival in Boston of Basil Ransom, a young Mississippi lawyer in search of a career. Through his cousin, Olive Chancellor, Ransom comes to meet Verena, the beautiful daughter of a charlatan faith-healer and showman. When they hear Verena talk, Olive hopes to win the girl over to the feminist cause, Ransom is attracted to her looks, and a battle for possession of the girl begins. With its discussion of the situation of women and its uncompromising depiction of the city and the media, "The Bostonians" is a modern novel which is immediately accessible and relevant today.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
Olive will come down in about ten minutes; she told me to tell you that. Read the first page

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Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars unique among james's novels, April 11 2004

By

James Omni (Berlin Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Penguin Classics Bostonians (Paperback)

I don't think this is one of his very best works and prefer The Ambassadors and The Portrait of a Lady, but it is interesting and enjoyable nonetheless. None of the characters are very reasonable (the main characters are, perhaps, not even agreeable), and the reader is torn between taking sides with Olive, Verena, or Basil, even though James has a slight bias for Basil, a reactionary. The structure of the novel seems excentric when compared with James's other novels: Basil, the hero, is absent for long stretches, and the finale includes a bit of comedy with a policeman. This scene verges on slap-stick and comes as a shock, in an otherwise intense and somber love story. The prose, however, is beautiful throughout and easier to read than that of his later novels.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent characterization, timely satire, May 20 2003

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Cynthia S. Froning "astrocyn" (Longmont, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Bostonians (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first James novel I've read, so my high ranking doesn't take into account the relative merits of his novels. That having been said, this novel impressed me with its excellent character development, amusing satire, and spot-on portraits of certain types of oh-so-serious New England crusaders for whom an ironic outlook is alien. The development of the southerner Basil seemed a little weak to me, but James knows his Bostonians and his sketches remain fresh.

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3.0 out of 5 stars A different kind of novel than I'm used to, April 13 2003

By

Brian (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bostonians (Mass Market Paperback)

I finished reading this book only a few weeks ago for a college class I'm in. It certainly wasn't the kind of book I'd pick up just on my own, but I wouldn't say I didn't like it.

The story is set primarily in Boston and somewhat in New York during the 1880's. At the request of his cousin Olive Chancellor, southern lawyer Basil Ransom comes to visit. He accompanies her to a meeting where the young Verena Tarrant speaks wonderfully on women's rights. Olive is so impressed with Verena, she starts what's debatably a lesbian relationship with her, but Ransom is taken with Verena as well and so a struggle begins between the two for Verena's affections.

I think Henry James does an excellent job of giving complete descriptions of each character and you really get a sense of who they are. Olive comes across as rigid and passionate, Verena as young, full of life and curious and Basil as sexist and determined. Basil uses all his ability to wrench Verena from Olive. As I mentioned, the relationship between Verena and Olive is debatable. There are no sex scenes in this novel, but the implication is there. Additionally, I've learned in the class for which I read this novel that many women during this time period engaged in very intense romantic relationships which may or may not be described as sexual.

There are of course other characters such as Verena's parents and other women's rights activists, but the whole focus of the novel is on this struggle for Verena. It wouldn't be completely unfair to say that in some ways nothing much happens in this novel. It's truly a character driven story. There aren't really antagonists and protagonists in the story, but more just people whom all have faults and are just trying to make the right decisions. Although my description of Basil above may sound like a bad guy and although he's unapologetically sexist, he perhaps is no worse than Olive who sometimes seems to be using Verena, a young woman whose thoughts and feelings are maleable. At its heart, the novel is still a love story. Overall, I'd say this is probably worth reading if you like novels about this time period, about love or if you like this author. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'd read another novel by James, but I don't regret reading this.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A simple, well-written, North/South love story.
Henry James's, "The Bostonians," is a simple, but increasingly entertaining love story set in the years soon after the end of the Civil War. Read more

Published on Dec 10 2002 by miked99

4.0 out of 5 stars A novel to leave you in thought.
First off, this is a delicious novel! What's amazing is that to me at least, is that it has no heroes. Read more

Published on Oct 3 2001 by Kevin S. Currie