The Europeans

by Henry James

Overview

Henry James released his little novel The Europeans: A Sketch in 1878. In essence, it is a comedy that contrasts the actions and viewpoints of two European tourists with those of their relatives who reside in the "new" world of New England. The Atlantic Monthly published the serialized version of the book from July to October of 1878. The story begins in Boston and New England in the middle of the 19th century and details the transition from the old to the new world for two European siblings. Eugenia Münster and Felix Young, the two protagonists, have been traveling between France, Italy, and Germany since they were young children.The patriarchal Mr. Wentworth, his son Clifford, 20, and his two daughters Gertrude and Charlotte captivate Felix. In contrast to Felix, who is content to accept the gift of a little house but values his independence, Eugenia's response is different. Her brother, on the other hand, is perfectly content to spend all of his time with Charlotte and Gertrude, spending countless hours painting portraits in their piazza or garden.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789357273879
Publisher:	Double 9 Booksllp
Publication date:	12/01/2022
Pages:	170
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.39(d)

About the Author

Susan M. Griffin is Professor of English and Distinguished University Scholar at the University of Louisville, Fulbright Senior Scholar, and Editor of the Henry James Review. She is co-editor with Willian Veeder of The Art of Criticism: Henry James on the Theory and the Practice of Fiction (1986), author of The Historical Eye: The Texture of the Visual in Late James (1991), editor of Henry James Goes to the Movies (2002) and All a Novelist Needs: Colm Tóibín on Henry James (2010), and co-editor with Alan Nadel of The Men Who Knew Too Much: Henry James and Alfred Hitchcock (2012).

Date of Birth:

April 15, 1843

Date of Death:

February 28, 1916

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Place of Death:

London, England

Education:

Attended school in France and Switzerland; Harvard Law School, 1862-63

Table of Contents

General editors' preface; General chronology of James' life and writings; Introduction; Textual introduction; Chronology of composition and production; Bibliography; The Europeans; Glossary of foreign words and phrases; Notes; Textual variants; List of emendations.

Editorial Reviews

He is as solitary in the history of the novel as Shakespeare in the history of poetry.

Graham Greene

Bron’s reading is alert with nuance. She alternates between energy and ennui as character or occasion dictates, voicing the characters lightly, in keeping with James’s strong narrative control. In so doing, she mirrors perfectly both James’s tense and ambiguous world as well as his masterful control of that world.”

AudioFile

James’ irony is far from being unkind; he sees too much he admires in the [American] ethos he criticizes to condemn it…This small book, written so early in James’ career, is a masterpiece of major quality.”

F. R. Leavis

[The] reading by Lloyd James…is excellent here. He softens his voice for the German characters and gives the pompous, self-centered Eugenia a deep, sonorous murmur.”

Kliatt

'[One of] two handsome volumes in their Cambridge maroon cloth covers with gilt stamping on the binding and James’s familiar signature on the covers are crucial additions to the resources scholars will use for generations to study the greatest novelist of the modern period.' John Carlos Rowe, The Henry James Review

From the Publisher

Narrator Adam Sims expertly guides the listener through the complex relationships Henry James sets up when European cousins Eugenia and Felix come to America to meet their relations. Sims’s soft cadence couples well with James’s prose, and his vocal characterizations distinguish the characters clearly. He captures the European brother and sister especially well. Felix’s delightful French accent and enthusiastic tone emphasize his apparent lightheartedness—he always sounds as if he is smiling. Eugenia’s slight accent and offhand way of speaking make her sound not only false but also somewhat sinister. Sims creates a contrast between the Europeans and the earnest American characters. He navigates prose and dialogue with apparent ease, and his narration makes for a well-paced experience of the novel. D.M.W. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile