Showing results by author "Henry James" in All Categories

"Il giro di vite", strepitoso capolavoro dell'horror ottocentesco, inaugura la collaborazione tra LA CASE Books e Vir la Forza delle parole. Una storia di enorme potenza evocativa e di grande attualità, tanto da aver ispirato la seconda stagione di "Hill House", l'acclamata serie TV prodotta da Netflix. Bly Manor, villa cupa e decadente, è lo scenario in cui si muovono Flora e Miles, due piccoli orfani di 8 e 9 anni. La villa in cui vivono però è infestata da oscure presenze, presenze che la loro giovane istitutrice riesce ad avvertire grazie al suo "sesto senso".

The genius of this story about an acrimonious divorce lies in its being told from a little girl's point of view. Touching and insightful, it is a hilariously acerbic observation of a refined form of child exploitation and neglect. Upon their divorce, little Maisie finds herself of interest to her parents only as a means of expressing their mutual hatred for each other.  

Inspired by an incident recounted to him by a friend, this ghost story by Henry James is often regarded as one of the best of its genre and is all the more haunting because of its understatement. A governess hired to take care of two small children at a country estate soon finds herself beleaguered by the shadowy apparitions of a man and a woman who once worked there.

Catherine Sloper, the heroine of this tragicomic tale set in mid-19th century New York, is absolutely ordinary in every way except for her exceptional capacities in love and loyalty. These latter qualities are of no interest to her father, the successful society Doctor who is constantly disappointed by his daughter's failure to be brilliant, either physically or intellectually. For this reason, he is highly suspicious when Morris Townsend begins to woo her and is convinced the handsome young man's interest is only in the fortune Catherine will eventually inherit.

The Portrait of a Lady is the story of a spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who "affronts her destiny" and finds it overwhelming. She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the victim of Machiavellian scheming by two American expatriates. Like many of James' novels, it is set mostly in Europe, notably England and Italy.

One of Henry James’ main themes was the interaction between the Old World and the New. Restless Baroness Eugenia Munster and her charming bohemian brother Felix are visiting their American cousins in Boston, New England. The effect these two extravagant characters have on their austere Puritan relations forms the substance of the book and is told in a series of scenes or ‘sketches’.

This group of 19th-century American poets was the first to rival their British counterparts in popularity. Gathered around their New England roots, they were also known as the Schoolroom or Household poets and comprised of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell and Olivier Wendell Holmes, Sr. Occasionally Ralph Waldo Emerson was included, although his poetic philosophy differed in some key aspects.  

Daisy Miller is a beautiful American girl abroad. Assured, flirtatious, and at odds with reserved European etiquette, she meets two men: Mr. Winterbourne, a world-weary compatriot in full pursuit, and Mr. Giovanelli, a passionate Italian with questionable motives. Unmindful of the scandals she incites and of the risks to her reputation, Daisy believes that she is also impervious to fate.

Theatre Royal. The very name summons up something of grandeur and eloquence. And it was. Hosted by Ralph Richardson, these big-name productions also included the creme de la creme of acting talents from John Gielgud, Robert Morley and Orson Welles to Trevor Howard, Michael Redgrave and Laurence Olivier. They were based on works by the world's leading authors, among them Charles Dickens, Henry James, Oscar Wilde and Anton Chekhov. These are but a few of whose company we shall be keeping as we raise the curtain on our first instalment of theatrical history.

Theatre Royal. The very name summons up something of grandeur and eloquence. And it was. Hosted by Ralph Richardson, these big-name productions also included the creme de la creme of acting talents from John Gielgud, Robert Morley and Orson Welles to Trevor Howard, Michael Redgrave and Laurence Olivier. They were based on works by the world's leading authors, among them Charles Dickens, Henry James, Oscar Wilde and Anton Chekhov. These are but a few of whose company we shall be keeping as we raise the curtain on our first instalment of theatrical history.

Published in 1897, The Spoils of Poynton is one of the quintessential works of James's middle period. The "spoils" of the book's title refer to furniture and other objets d'art that the widow Adela Gereth moves to her cottage so that they are kept away from the clutches of her coarse future daughter-in-law, Mona Brigstock. However, events take an unexpected turn when her married son Owen is attracted to her friend, Fleda Vetch.

Isabel Archer is a young woman who has inherited a large sum of money after the death of her father. She is invited to visit her aunt and uncle’s estate in London, where she is greeted by a cast of eclectic neighbors, many of whom offer her marriage very quickly due to her status. Isabel is set on maintaining independence though and refuses several offers of marriage as she lives in pursuit of her destiny. Eventually, she does fall prey to the people trying to gain her fortune and settles into an unhappy marriage with an egotistical man named Gilbert Osmond. 

This unfinished late novel is complex, convoluted, and poses a challenge for both amateur and professional Jamesians alike. In it, Henry James explores the reactions of a native young British heir to his inheritance of an American fortune during the Gilded Age as well as the reactions of members of his family and surrounding community.

Henry James' fascinating love triangle involves a male chauvinist, an ardent feminist, and the lovely gifted pawn, Verena Tarrant. As always, James' descriptions and dialogue delight from beginning to end!

Evil apparitions haunt a governess who is put in charge of two supposedly "possessed" children. In "The Third Person", two spinsters add some spice to their lives by entertaining a ghost.

In this superb novella, a nameless narrator travels to Venice in search of Juliana Bordereau, the former lover of Jeffrey Aspern, a famous and now dead American poet. We witness the battle between a strong-willed woman who is determined to keep the secrets of a famous poet and an unscrupulous man who is equally determined to uncover them.

The innocent and insolent Daisy confronts the traditions of old Europe and confounds all of the people (especially the men) who surround her. All throughout the story, there are classic Jamesian views on the differences between English and American societies.

The Turn of the Screw is a fireside tale of evil and mystery. Filled with extraordinary drama, Henry James' story has been widely popular ever since its publication in 1898. It also inspired a film, a play, and an opera. A governess has been hired to care for two orphaned young children in their uncle's English country home. But soon after she meets the boy and his sister, the governess begins to see fearful apparitions.

When Chadwick Newsome lingers too long in Paris, his mother, a wealthy New England widow, sends her fiancé, Lambert Strether, to fetch him home. Newsome refuses, extending his stay while Strether finds himself lured by the intrigue of Parisian life. Published in 1903, The Ambassadors is regarded as a masterpiece of American fiction for its exceptional structure, its moral significance, and its depiction of the contrasting New and Old World cultures. Henry James considered this his finest novel.

On a quiet Christmas Eve, a governess’ manuscript detailing her encounters with the supernatural is read. She tells the story of moving into an estate to take care of two children and becoming slowly aware that the area is overrun with ghosts of the previous inhabitants - and that the children are aware that these ghosts exist.