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Washington Square (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Henry James (Author), Philip Horne (Editor), Professor Martha Banta (Editor, Introduction) "During a portion of the first half of the present century, and more particularly during the latter part of it, there flourished and practiced in..." (more)
Key Phrases: ailanthus trees, Morris Townsend, Doctor Sloper, New York (more...)

4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (51 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Like Chopin's work above, this also features period photos and a plastic jacket. The classics have become hot film properties, and the forthcoming feature film version of this book should bring readers into the library looking for the original.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
... James's astute story of a plain heiress and the poor, handsome suitor who may or may not love her only for her wealth ... James credits the young woman from the start with nothing more Oscar-worthy than a certain dull ordinariness. -- Entertainment Weekly

Short novel by Henry James, published in 1880 and praised for its depiction of the complicated relationship between a stubborn father and his daughter. The novel's main character, Catherine Sloper, lives with her widowed aunt and her physician father in New York City's fashionable Washington Square district. A plain, rather stolid young woman, Catherine is a disappointment to her father. She is courted by Morris Townsend, who is interested only in her potential inheritance. When her father threatens to disinherit her if she marries the fortune hunter, Townsend abandons her. Many years later, after her father's death, Townsend reappears and attempts to renew his suit. Catherine rejects him and lives on as a confirmed spinster in her Washington Square house. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics (December 18, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0141441364
ISBN-13: 978-0141441368
Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (51 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #210,924 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#41 in Books > Literature & Fiction > British > Classics > James, Henry
#66 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( J ) > James, Henry

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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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 practiced 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

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ailanthus trees

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Morris Townsend, Doctor Sloper, New York, Washington Square, Miss Sloper, Arthur Townsend, New Orleans, Second Avenue, Marian Almond, United States

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 20 books:

Washington Square (Signet Classics) by Henry James on 12 pages
The Golden Bowl (Penguin Classics) by Henry James in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
Daisy Miller (Penguin Classics) by Henry James in Front Matter, and Back Matter
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
The Portrait of a Lady (Penguin Classics) by Henry James in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)

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100 books cite this book:

Downtown: My Manhattan by Pete Hamill on 6 pages
Henry James (Critical Issues) by Jeremy Tambling on 5 pages
Conversations with Eugene O� Neill (Literary Conversations Series) by Mark W. Estrin on 4 pages
The Newport Guide by Richard Saul Wurman on 4 pages
Bus Operator 7E (Arco Civil Service Test Tutor) by Arco on page 99, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)

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	85% buy the item featured on this page: Washington Square (Penguin Classics) 4.1 out of 5 stars (51) $9.00
	7% buy Washington Square (Wordsworth Classics) $4.99
	4% buy The Portrait of a Lady (Penguin Classics) 4.4 out of 5 stars (24) $8.80
	3% buy The Ambassadors (Oxford World's Classics) 3.6 out of 5 stars (31) $8.95

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Customer Reviews

51 Reviews

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4.1 out of 5 stars (51 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Most Accesible James Novel About Daughter, Father, & Suitor, December 26, 2002

By	Tsuyoshi - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Washington Square (Modern Library Classics) (Paperback)

"Washington Square", published in 1880, is not, and will not be, regarded as Henry James's best novel -- the honor would go to "The Portrait of a Lady" or much later works like "The Wings of the Dove" -- but this short but richly woven book deserve our attention. The book is always readable and intriguing while it does not fail to deliver the amazingly realistic characters living in New York City of the 19th century. Certainly, this is the best place for any beginners of James to start.

The book starts with an introduction of a New York physician Dr. Sloper and his only daughter Catherine. While the doctor gained respectable position among the patients, he loses his wife suddenly after the birth of Catherine, who grows up to be a not particularly clever nor beautiful girl. Catherine, painfully shy, becomes a dutiful, but perhaps dull, daughter, the kind of a girl whose awkward behaviors her father approves always with a little detached attitude.

Then, comes a good-looking man Morris Townsend, who has no money but gives a word of "gentleman." But what does that mean when Doctor suspects this is just another fortune hunter, who is seeking for the money Catherine is to inherit after his death? Still, Doctor is half amused, even entertained, by this unexpected visitor who now seems to have gained the love of his daughter. But he didn't expect that Catherine would show surprising obstinate attitude in spite of his threat of disinheriting her.

The book is written, as a whole, with a very tragic note, but as you read on, you will find that, just like Jane Austen's narrator, "Washington Square" has an amusing aspect of comedy at first. The meddling widow Mrs. Penniman, whose wild imagination is one of her weakness, is a good example. She runs around between Morris and Catherine, only to annoy both of them. Henry James's touch when he treats these characters, however, sounds more incisive and even colder than Jane Austen's, if not totally cruel -- and the cruelty is gradually obvious as the plot unfolds.

Our main concern is about Catherine. The story is in itself trite and insignificant (James heard the original episode which the book is based on, in England from actress Fanny Kemble, and the brief note remains), but it is the growth (or change) of the apparently insipid heroine, and the interations between her and other characters (or between those other characters) that always impress us greatly. James's pen ruthlessly cuts into the hearts of those characters, and the intense, skillfully-constructed dialogue which show what is going on in the characters would instantly grip the readers' mind.

Some readers might champion more condensed prose of "The Golden Bowl", deeming "Washington Square" as too lightweight. In a sense, it is, I admit; the novel is not long, and the syntax is very easy to understand (for James, I mean). Still, the book is never dull, always fast-paced (for James, again), and the touching fate of the heroine Catherine is not a thing to be missed.

The novel is turned into films and they are also great, I must add. William Wyler's version is a masterpiece, with Olivia de Havilland/Montgomery Clift/Ralph Richardson trio, but more recent production made in 1997 is also good.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars genial observations of 19th century society, May 24, 2006

By	Aleksandra Nita-Lazar (MD, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Washington Square (Modern Library Classics) (Paperback)

One of the shorter novels by Henry James and relatively simple, comparing to his other works, "Washington Square" is a story of hidden emotions, fear of breaking conventions, and hypocrisy resulting from those conventions.

Dr. Austin Sloper is a prosperous, respected Manhattan physician, a widower with one daughter, Catherine. He boasts a sharp mind and considers himself a good judge of character. Although Catherine is rather a plain and uninteresting girl, admittedly even by her family, she has prospect of coming into considerable wealth. Therefore, when she meets Morris Townsend, a handsome, but idle man, and falls in love, her father is on guard and after some research fiercely opposes the marriage, on the graounds that Townsend is a fortune hunter. Lavinia, Catherine's aunt, however, tries to "help" the couple... Catherine, in the center of attention and subjected to manipulations from people claiming to love her, would seem to be a miserable creature, but she has perhaps the most puzzling and complex personality of all the characters!

These four people are the core of the novel and their psychological portraits are subtle yet acute (nobody is a flat, archetypal figure), the hidden faults and qualities of the main and background characters make them very real and complex, the irony towards the society is very clear. There are many things the reader has to fathom from hints and allusions, not everything is explicitly said so to some extent the motives of the protagonists are open to interpretation.

Henry James is a master of psychological novel of his time, great observer and talented writer (comparable maybe to Jane Austen, he also wrote about subjects he well knew). Although "Washington Square" is not considered one of his best novels, it is nevertheless a masterpiece. Many of the sentences are so full of sarcasm, witty or so extremely right, that even nowadays they could be uttered without change - I consider James a writer, whose work never ages, which is a kind of paradox, considering how firmly they are placed in his time. In addition, it is delightful to read about New York City and imagine times, when Washington Square was uptown...

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bartleby the Spinster, January 23, 2006

By	Arch Llewellyn "arch-l" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Washington Square (Modern Library Classics) (Paperback)

Washington Square is a searing portrait of selfishness, cruelty and manipulation that brings a radically new psychological depth to the traditional 19th century novel of manners. In Dr. Sloper James created one of his most insidious characters; a clever, genial man of the world who would rather sees his principles confirmed than his daughter happy. Catherine, the plain victim of a suave fortune-seeking fianc�, has to rank with Melville's Bartleby as a model of passive resistance. As she awakens to her father's flaws, Catherine shows the plodding strength of innocence in the face of his high-handed manipulation. The self-absorbed spinster aunt Lavinia completes the picture, using her niece's courtship as a way to work out her own thwarted romantic desires. Everyone is using everyone for something else, in typical Jamesian fashion, but doing it with style--even in this early work, James had an uncanny feeling for the crude drives that veiled themselves behind good manners and the conventions of respectable society. A great read that has to rank as one of James's darkest and most insightful novels.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading
Just finished reading Washington Square by Henry James. A masterpiece of character sketching of an autocratic all knowing father and a devoted daughter who shows an astonishing... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Revathi Bacsa

5.0 out of 5 stars The Heiress, the Father and the Fortune-hunter.
Very accessible, short novel of manners set in mid-nineteenth century Manhattan, New York.
Quiet Catherine Sloper is an Heiress. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Zou Zou

4.0 out of 5 stars Both the Novella and the Film Adaptation are Quite Good
Nominally a story of young romance, Washington Square's plot actually pivots around two sharply defined characters: the young Catherine Sloper, honest and sweet, but... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Michael Wischmeyer

4.0 out of 5 stars Washington Square
Washington Square is a compact, tightly constructed story that focuses with almost unwavering gaze upon the Sloper family, or more particularly, on Catherine Sloper, a sweet,... Read more

Published 21 months ago by Damian Kelleher

4.0 out of 5 stars "You Can't Please Your Father and Me Both; You Must Choose Between Us..."
Although Henry James is best known for The Portrait of a Lady (Penguin Classics), this slender volume of a young woman's lifetime is one that resonates for the oddest reasons... Read more

Published on July 8, 2007 by R. M. Fisher

5.0 out of 5 stars a classic American tale of parents and children
Eloquently composed by a master of the World and American novel, Henry James, WASHINGTON SQUARE is a revelatory , painful study of wealth, prestige, and social discrimination in... Read more

Published on March 21, 2007 by Spirit Visitor

4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasure
Washington Square is a pleasure to read. Best of all is Henry James' lush prose; his ethereal descriptions of characters and their emotional states and feelings towards others is... Read more

Published on January 21, 2007 by Fenster

5.0 out of 5 stars Early James At His Best
Though James rejected this tale for inclusion in the New York Edition of his works, presumably because it was too simple and straightforward, many readers have not shared his... Read more

Published on December 17, 2006 by Stanley H. Nemeth

4.0 out of 5 stars the sacrificial American girl
Washington Square can be read as an upper-class fairy tale. Catherine Sloper has the tendency to see the people around her as if they were characters in a novel. Read more

Published on July 10, 2006 by Lyn Bann

5.0 out of 5 stars About a penniless man after a rich girl's purse

Why Henry James despised this work so much is hard to understand, but he did, even refusing to have it included in his NOVELS AND TALES collected works. Read more

Published on January 8, 2006 by Bomojaz

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