- Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Signet Classics; Reprint edition (April 5 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0451528719
- ISBN-13: 978-0451528711
- Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 10.7 x 1.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 136 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,785,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
In the late-19th-century world of James (The Aspern Papers, Audio Reviews, LJ 1/93), upper-class New Yorkers move in an atmosphere of gentle melancholy, with just a touch of decadence. Catherine Sloper is neither brilliant nor charming, merely good. She is also the heiress Mr. Townsend wants to marry. Her father wants to protect her, or is it that he is more concerned with thwarting a defiant bounder? Her aunt uses Catherine's romance as an opportunity to add drama to her own life. Who will win? What is winning in this situation? Most of the book is devoted to a delicate exploration of the thoughts, activities, and motivations of a small group of people. William Hope delivers a clear and competent performance of the text. The question becomes, as Henry James is not a highly popular author, is there a significant audience for an abridged audio of his work? His focus on human interplay rather than plot would seem to appeal to "full text" readers. For this reason, although a very good value, this audiobook is recommended only for larger public and academic libraries.AI. Pour-El, Iowa State Univ., Ames
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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First Sentence
During a portion of the first half of the present century, and more particularly during the latter part of it, there flourished and practised in the city of New York a physician who enjoyed perhaps an exceptional share of the consideration which, in the United States, has always been bestowed upon distinguished members of the medical profession. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
During a portion of the first half of the present century, and more particularly during the latter part of it, there flourished and practised in the city of New York a physician who enjoyed perhaps an exceptional share of the consideration which, in the United States, has always been bestowed upon distinguished members of the medical profession. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Woman Before Her Time.,
This review is from: Penguin Classics Washington Square (Paperback)
Washington Square by Henry James is a very well-written novel depicting the story of a woman caught in a time period where she is conflicted and tormented by both her father, a wealthy doctor, and her suitor, a good-looking man with little means of his own.The main character, Catherine, is dominated and treated poorly her whole life by her cold and distant father, who has little value and respect for his "plain-looking and dull" daughter. When Catherine meets her suitor Morris, she is immediately taken with the man and all of his charms and wit. Catherine's father however, sees beyond the good looks and charm of this man, and, realizes instantly that Morris is only after his daughter for her money. What ensues is an attempt by Catherine's father to do whatever is possible to make sure that his daughter does not marry this man. Catherine is pulled in two different directions throughout the novel, but, in the end, what prevails is a strong woman lurking under the subservient exterior in a time where women were valued very little for their opinions, intelligence and independence. A good classic novel.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling and depressing.,
By MAB (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Penguin Classics Washington Square (Mass Market Paperback)
"Washington Square" is a story bursting with pain, sorrow, egotism, and shattered dreams. Having seen the movies "The Heiress" (1949) and "Washington Square" (1997), I possessed emotions and images going into the book, that others may not feel. Nonetheless, I came to many conclusions. Dr. Sloper, the father who emotionally-starved his only daughter, Catherine, used his money to pit his daughter into her own private Hell. The same money Dr. Sloper thought Morris, Catherine's beau, would use frivolously. He had no qualms about hurting his daughter in any form, and viewed Catherine as the object that took away all of his happiness. Catherine, the plain heiress who was said to lack beauty, intelligence, wit, and anything worthwhile, fears, but loves her father. She thinks he is magnificent, even when he spurts hatred towards her. She falls in love with Morris Townsend, who is said to only want her for her money, and this is when the trials and tribulations begin. Aunt Lavinia, Dr. Sloper's sister and Catherine's Aunt, is a young girl at heart, and only worsens things by her imaginative involvement. Although it must be so, I did not get a full impression that Morris was only after Catherine's money. The story is heart wrenching and you'll feel disgust for the characters, but will also feel shame for them. As a side note, the 1997 movie "Washington Square" is the most faithful of the two movies, excluding the ending, and in my opinion, much more fulfilling than "The Heiress." The latter is dramatic, but does not delve into the main parts of the story. I recommend.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Uncomplicated with cinematic appeal,
By
This review is from: Washington Square (Mass Market Paperback)
The introduction to this paperback edition, by Peter Conn, (I always read introductions after I finish a book)- places WS in the pantheon of American letters. Of itself, it does not belong. But by its birthright, it does. It was James' last American novel, a product of his distinguished NY childhood. James fled the states for Europe soon after its publication. NY, he explained had too little social conflict and diversity, (how's that for irony.) Pre Civil War New York was, at least to the middle classes who make up the characters, a tranquil, unhurried and well- mannered, society. The same manners, from a glamorous, if not tragic slant were drawn in The Age of Innocence and other (to me) more intoxicating tales by his friend Edith Wharton. Hawthorne, we are told, was one of James' masters, his influence is felt in W.S.On its own, the story is middling. As an evocation of another time, without any real connection to what New York was soon to become, it lures the reader into a forgotten past. Any American lit student or NY city buff will cherish it for its august parentage. The plot lacks surprises or unexpected twists. It centers on the maneuverings of a gold digging scoundrel in pursuit of a plain and unsophisticated heiress. Her father, a self-made, well-off physician, adamantly and sadistically condemns the match- he is right about the man's motives, but his methods are cruel. The comic and sometimes despicable aunt, Lavinia, living completely on her brother's charity, is turned into a divisive fool, so enamored of Townsend, the fox, that she allows herself to be manipulated against her niece and brother. During a trip abroad, where father and daughter hoped to resolve the division, Lavinia opened the door to the doctor's own office, drinking the doc's finest wine and puffing his cigars, we see the true soul of the pretender as though looking into the future.
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