The Bostonians, Vol. I (of II)

Henry James turns his merciless eye on the American obsession with reform in this sparkling satire of the women's rights movement. At its center is abattle for the soul of Verena Tarrant, a young speaker of extraordinary beauty and vagueness, whose gift for inspirational oratory has made her the prize in a struggle between two cousins: Olive Chancellor, a wealthy Boston radical who has dedicated her life to the cause, and Basil Ransom, a brooding Southern lawyer who represents everything she despises. James understands that ideology and desire are not so easily separated. Olive's passion for Verena is genuine, but is it love or possession? Ransom's conservatism masks a romanticism that is as dangerous as any feminism. The novel asks uncomfortable questions about what women really want, and whether the people who claim to champion them might also be the ones who cage them. Sharp, witty, and psychologically intricate, The Bostonians remains startlingly relevant for anyone who has ever wondered whether liberation can also be a form of control.