James, Henry "The Europeans"

James, Henry "The Europeans" - 1878

I think I just expect too much from Henry James. I want him to be the American Charles Dickens. He is not. He is, however, quite good at describing the difference between the United States of America and Europe at the time. Especially that of the higher part of the society.

I did like the conversations and the reflections about the different lives in the two countries.

Like all books by Henry James, too short! That makes it a wonderful start for someone who isn't too keen on classics, though. I still want to read more by this author because he gives us an insight into a world that is long gone. Or is it?

From the back cover:

"This light-hearted masterpiece tells of the influence Eugenia and her brother Felix exert on their Bostonian cousins when they visit the New World.

In the hope of making a wealthy marriage, Eugenia, the Baroness Münster, and her younger brother, the artist Felix, descend on the Wentworths, in Boston. Installed in a nearby house, they become close friends with the younger Wentworths - Gertrude, Charlotte and Clifford.

Eugenia's wit, guile and sophistication, and Felix's debonair vivacity from an uneasy alliance with the Puritan morality and the frugal, domestic virtues of the Americans. A rich and delicately balanced comedy of manners, The Europeans weighs the values of the established order against those of New England society, but makes no simple judgements, only subtle contrasts and beautifully observed comparisons."

James, Henry "Daisy Miller"

James, Henry "Daisy Miller" - 1879

I have always loved classics and recently joined an online club: The Classics Club.

The beginning for me was Spin # 20. Everyone listed 20 classics from their TBR pile and one number was chosen, it was # 19 which for me was "Daisy Miller".

I had read one book by Henry Miller before, "The American".

Same as there, the author describes life of an American woman in 19th century Europe. How life in the States clashes with that in Europe where some old-fashioned manners still have to be observed whereas the Americans were a lot more independent at the time.

My one complaint about the story is, it's too short. You've only just started reading the novel and it's already over. Not really great for me. And I wouldn't call it a comedy. I haven't laughed once which I usually expect from a comedy.

Even so, there is a lot in this book that needs to be looked at. Have we really changed that much that we don't believe in conventions anymore as we try to tell ourselves all the time, are we really that much more "modern" than the people who lived 200 years ago? Sometimes, no, often, I have my doubts.

It's a good book about society and its prejudices. Worth reading. Certainly not my last book by Henry James.

From the back cover:

"Travelling in Europe with her family, Daisy Miller, an exquisitely beautiful young American woman, presents her fellow-countryman Winterbourne with a dilemma he cannot resolve. Is she deliberately flouting social convention in the outspoken way she talks and acts, or is she simply ignorant of them? When she strikes up an intimate friendship with an urbane young Italian, her flat refusal to observe the codes of respectable behaviour leave her perilously exposed. In Daisy Miller Henry James brilliantly dramatized the conflict between old-world manners and nouveau riche tourists, and created his first great portrait of the enigmatic and dangerously independent American woman, a figure who would come to dominate his later masterpieces."

James, Henry "The American"

James, Henry "The American" - 1875

1875, towards the end of the 19th century, society thinks it has become more modern. But has it really? A rich American moves to Europe where he meets a French woman and they fall in love. But the class difference stands between them, his money does not make up for a snobbery that has been cultivated for centuries. Social traditions are so important to her family.

I love reading about the different kind of world in the past, especially if it was written from a contemporary point of view. Henry James is the American Jane Austen, he points out all the problems society had at the time without being able to show a solution, even a glimmer of hope because he couldn't see it from where he stood.

I especially like the style of writing these authors employed. It's a pleasure to read, even if it was just for the words and not the story. But the plot is quite interesting, too. Good book.

"In this classic collision of the New World with Old Europe, James weaves a fable of thwarted desire that shifts between comedy, tragedy, romance, and melodrama."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"'You, you a nun; you with your beauty defaced and your nature wasted you behind locks and bars! Never, never, if I can prevent it!'

A wealthy American man of business descends on Europe in search of a wife to make his fortune complete. In Paris Christopher Newman is introduced to Claire de Cintre, daughter of the ancient House of Bellegarde, and to Valentin, her charming young brother. His bid for Claire's hand receives an icy welcome from the heads of the family, an elder brother and their formidable mother, the old Marquise. Can they stomach his manners for the sake of his dollars? Out of this classic collision between the old world and the new, James weaves a fable of thwarted desire that shifts between comedy, tragedy, romance and melodrama a fable which in the later version printed here takes on some of the subtleties associated with this greatest novels."