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The Bostonians
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 16 hrs and 59 mins
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The Bostonians
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Editorial reviews
Narrator Elisabeth Rodgers clearly has a deep understanding of Henry James' comic sensibilities as well as the motivations and desires of his characters. Basil Ransom, a prototypical Southern gentleman, is captivated by Verena Tarrant, a working-class feminist whose youth belies her extraordinary oratorical gifts. His cousin Olive, a supporter of radical causes, is also one of Verena's admirers, and a struggle to claim Verena ensues between the two cousins. Rodgers provides each character with individual voices, from Basil's laidback tones of privilege to Olive's subtly tense diction and to Verena's ringing, impassioned speech. Rodgers' lovely performance is a true pleasure, and James fans will discover new depths and insights with it.
Publisher's Summary
From Boston's social underworld emerges Verena Tarrant, a girl with extraordinary oratorical gifts, which she deploys in tawdry meeting-houses on behalf of "the sisterhood of women". She acquires two admirers of a very different stamp: Olive Chancellor, devotee of radical causes, and marked out for tragedy; and Basil Ransom, veteran of the Civil War, with rigid views concerning society and women's place therein. Is the lovely, lighthearted Verena made for public movements or private passions? A struggle to possess her, body and soul, develops between Olive and Basil.
The exploitation of Verena's unregenerate innocence reflects a society whose moral and cultural values are failing to survive the new dawn of liberalism and democracy. The Bostonians (1886) was not welcomed by James's fellow countrymen, who failed to appreciate its delicacy and wit; but a century later, this book is widely regarded as James's finest American fiction, and perhaps his comic masterpiece.
