The Bostonians

After seeing her speak at a political rally Olive Chancellor, spirited feminist, and Basil Ransom, conservative southern lawyer become fascinated with the captivating young Verena Tarrant. With very different end goals in mind they both pursue closeness with Verena. Caught between the allure of two very different worlds, Verena must navigate the conflicting desires of those who seek to influence her destiny. Through its astute exploration of gender roles and societal expectations, The Bostonians remains a compelling examination of the tensions between tradition and progress, idealism and pragmatism. HENRY JAMES [1843 -1916] was born in New York but emigrated to Europe early in life. He is one of the most important figures in Anglo-Saxon turn-of-the-century literature, with novels such as The American [1877] and the horror novel The Turn of the Screw [1898].

This study of Boston's West Indian immigrants examines the identities, goals, and aspirations of two generations of black migrants from the British-held Caribbean who settled in Boston between 1900 and 1950. Describing their experience among Boston's American-born blacks and in the context of the city's immigrant history, the book charts new conceptual territory. The Other Black Bostonians explores the pre-migration background of the immigrants, work and housing, identity, culture and community, activism and social mobility. What emerges is a detailed picture of black immigrant life. Johnson's work makes a contribution to the study of the black diaspora as it charts the history of this first wave of Caribbean immigrants.

A cynical Southern lawyer and his suffragette cousin become rivals for the attentions of a charismatic speaker in this compelling tale of politics, feminism, and a nascent lesbian attraction.

Henry James’s celebrated novel about a passionate New England feminist, her reactionary Southern gentleman cousin, and a charismatic young woman whose loyalty they both wish to possess goes so directly to the heart of sexual politics that it speaks to us with a voice as fresh and vital as when the book was first published in 1886. When Basil Ransom visits his cousin Olive Chancellor in Boston, she takes him to hear a political speech about women’s emancipation by a gifted speaker named Verena Tarrant. Though repelled by her principles, Basil is enchanted by the lovely Verena and becomes determined to convert her to his rigidly conservative views of a woman’s place. He argues that Verena is made for private passion not a public career, and wants to marry her and take her away from those he feels are exploiting her. But Olive, a serious devotee of the cause, has made Verena her protégée and taken her into her home. What ensues is a battle for the young woman’s body and soul by two antagonists with wills stronger than hers. Riveting in its narrative drama, rich and sympathetic in its ironies, The Bostonians is the work of a master psychologist at the top of his form. (Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)

Surprising, fun, and magnificently illustrated with two hundred images, Improper Bostonians is the first book to depict Boston's three centuries of gay and lesbian life, and--since it treats the American city with the longest gay and lesbian history--the most comprehensive and meticulously researched gay city history ever written.

The Bostonians is a novel by Henry James. This bittersweet tragicomedy centers on an odd triangle of characters: Basil Ransom, a political conservative from Mississippi; Olive Chancellor, Ransom's cousin and a Boston feminist; and Verena Tarrant, a pretty, young protǧě of Olive's in the feminist movement. The storyline concerns the struggle between Ransom and Olive for Verena's allegiance and affection, though the novel also includes a wide panorama of political activists, newspaper people, and quirky eccentrics. Unlike much of James' work, The Bostonians deals with explicitly political themes: feminism and the general role of women in society. James was at best ambivalent about the feminist movement, and the early chapters harshly satirize Olive and her fellow ideologues. Another theme in the book, much discussed recently, is Olive's possible lesbian attraction to Verena. (The term Boston marriage, apparently first used here by James, came to connote just such an ambiguous co-habiting long-term relationship between two women.) James is not explicit here, partially due to the conventions of the time. But this vagueness may actually enrich the novel because it creates possible ambiguity about Olive's motives.

This early work by Henry James was originally published in 1886 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. Henry James was born in New York City in 1843. One of thirteen children, James had an unorthodox early education, switching between schools, private tutors and private reading.. James published his first story, ‘A Tragedy of Error’, in the Continental Monthly in 1864, when he was twenty years old. In 1876, he emigrated to London, where he remained for the vast majority of the rest of his life, becoming a British citizen in 1915. From this point on, he was a hugely prolific author, eventually producing twenty novels and more than a hundred short stories and novellas, as well as literary criticism, plays and travelogues. Amongst James's most famous works are The Europeans (1878), Daisy Miller (1878), Washington Square (1880), The Bostonians (1886), and one of the most famous ghost stories of all time, The Turn of the Screw (1898). We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.