Guide Note:

Henry James' The Bostonians takes place in the mid-1800's. A politically challenging post-Civil War period, the 1800's saw women begin to fight for their rights with the Suffragette movement.

The story begins with cousins, Basil Ransom and Olive Chancellor attending a political meeting where Verena Tarrant is speaking on women’s rights. Verena catches the eye of both Basil and Olive. Olive sees her talents as being potentially helpful in her cause for women’s rights, while Basil finds her physically attractive. The cousin's conflicting causes regarding Verena leave Olive and Basil vying for the primary position in Verena's life.

Although the story revolves around the three primary characters, author Henry James manages to develop many other interesting personalities as well. In doing so, he puts to rest his critic’s opinions that he can only deal with small bits of humanity in his writings.

This novel underwent heavy criticism early on and was met with a great deal of disdain. In later years, however, it has become revered as a creative work of sensitivity.

Fast Facts:

1. Author: Henry James
2. First Published: 1886
3. Was initially published as a magazine serial
4. Genre: Bitter/sweet tragic Novel
5. Setting: Boston, Massachusetts just after Civil War
6. Moderator: Rotating First Person
7. Themes: Politics |Feminism
8. Was not received well by contemporary critics
9. Later critics praised this work
10. Film adaptation released in 1984

Popular Passages:

1. "It was just perceptible enough to light up the native gravity of her face. It might have been likened to a thin ray of moonlight resting upon the wall of a prison".
2. "Verena inquired, ending, as she always ended in these few speculations, with an appeal to Olive. This young lady thought it necessary to give her a very firm answer, "I always feel it, everywhere, night and day,I feel it now, here...."
3. "..if anything could be worse than what had gone before; and Olive took her hand with an irresistible impulse of compassion and reassurance. From the way it lay in hers she guessed her whole feeling......"