Product Description

Set in New York, this closely constructed novel belongs to James' early period. like "Portrait of a Lady" it studies the plight of an innocent heiress who is deceived by the looks and charm of a worthless suitor. At the same time she is striving to be loyal to a cold and forbidding father.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #451649 in Books
• Published on: 1984-05-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

About the Author
Henry James (1843-1916) was a US novelist, who settled in Europe in 1875. Many of his novels explore the contrast between the American and European character.

Customer Reviews

Between the Lines
This fascinating novel by James was one of my A-level books and I have returned to it a few times as an adult. The less-than gorgeous Catherine is pursued by a hot young man but the trouble is that her life is hot her own. Her father, a wealthy man, is suspicious of not only the handsome suitor but also of his daughter, whom he treats disgustingly. He threatens Catherine with disinheritance if she proceeds with the marriage, and she capitulates.

Many have argued that this book is really James's homosexuality in disguise - the dangers of going after the beautiful and indeed, then, illegal subjects of one's attentions - and you can of course read it that way. But James seems to be much more interested in the awful human capacity for hatred and control. Catherine's father HATES this young man and gives him no chance at all to demonstrate that he really cares for Catherine. He is cold and abusive towards his daughter and never once lightens. The central idea of avoiding being financially ripped off is more important than anyone's happiness. It is more important than the father's own happiness, which is what makes this book so tragic and sad. We all know people to whom money is more important than anything else and whose pride destroys those around them. This is a chilling book which in my view is better than most of James's longer works.

A woman's life
An excellent, short novel that probes the traditionally most important events of a woman's life -- her marriage opportunities. James portrays a woman who is as much the victim in society of her lack of beauty as she is of the two men in her life: a father who is at best negligent and often overtly cruel and a fortune-hunter who is breathtaking to behold but morally empty. James has the courage to demonstrate through Dr. Sloper's character (the father) the hardness and even abusiveness with which men treated women who lacked beauty or great wit. And he added a swain who pretended to treat the heroine in a finer manner, but who was merely after her money. Catherine Sloper learns her lessons slowly but seemingly well. Written beautifully, James has a small masterpiece of social commentary here, with a fair and objective presentation of one woman's life. Delightful to read, but sad that the heroine must cease to search for happiness merely because men have taught her not to trust their protestations of love.

Where To Start Reading Henry.
Forget the old Warner Brothers movie THE HEIRESS. The screenwriters ultimately didn't understand Catherine Sloper, the heroine of WASHINGTON SQUARE, the Henry James novel they adapted.
Henry James himself excluded this early work from the so-called NEW YORK EDITION of his works. I suspect Catherine was so much like himself he felt embarrassed for having created her.
Nevertheless, this is a straightforward novel. The experimentation of James's later work certainly is not here, but there is an astonishing determination. It was only his second or third novel.
It's about Catherine and her father. Too much has been made of the fact that Catherine's in a world which strives to crush her. James wishes to show us how one person can menace another; even his own daughter. This is what THE HEIRESS misses. It tries to make Catherine's suitor and her aunt villainous. They're fools, not villains.
What drives the plot is the question of whether or not Catherine will survive her father's bloodless cruelty.
Readers interested in the history of New York City will be intrigued by the description of Catherine's meddling aunt walking past construction sites where now-famous buildings stand. Henry James grew up on Washington Square. He's looking back at his own foundations, as it were.