The Ambassadors : Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The Ambassadors, which Henry James considered his best work, is the most exquisite refinement of his favorite theme: the collision of American innocence with European experience. This time, James recounts the continental journey of Louis Lambert Strether--a fiftysomething man of the world who has been dispatched abroad by a rich widow, Mrs. Newsome. His mission: to save her son Chadwick from the clutches of a wicked (i.e., European) woman, and to convince the prodigal to return to Woollett, Massachusetts. Instead, this all-American envoy finds Europe growing on him. Strether also becomes involved in a very Jamesian "relation" with the fascinating Miss Maria Gostrey, a fellow American and informal Sacajawea to her compatriots. Clearly Paris has "improved" Chad beyond recognition, and convincing him to return to the U.S. is going to be a very, very hard sell. Suspense, of course, is hardly James's stock-in-trade. But there is no more meticulous mapper of tone and atmosphere, nuance and implication. His hyper-refined characters are at their best in dialogue, particularly when they're exchanging morsels of gossip. Astute, funny, and relentlessly intelligent, James amply fulfills his own description of the novelist as a person upon whom nothing is lost. --Rhian Ellis
Book Description
This complex tale of self-discovery--considered by the author to be his best work--traces the path of an aging idealist, Lambert Strether. Arriving in Paris with the intention of persuading his young charge to abandon an obsession with a French woman and return home, Strether reaches unexpected conclusions. Astute, humorous, and intelligent, this masterpiece from the pinnacle of James' long and brilliant career remains ever vital.
The Ambassadors: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics),Henry James,Harry Levin,Penguin Classics,0140432337,Classics,Literature - Classics / Criticism,Literature: Classics,19th century fiction,Classic fiction,Fiction / Literary
Books Info:
Recommended Books