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The Ambassadors
(1903)
The Ambassadors, which Henry James considered his best work, is the most exquisite refinement of his favorite theme: the collision of American innocence with European experience. This time, James recounts the continental journey of Louis Lambert Strether--a fiftysomething man of the world who has been dispatched abroad by a rich widow, Mrs. Newsome. His mission: to save her son Chadwick from the clutches of a wicked (i.e., European) woman, and to convince the prodigal to return to Woollett, Massachusetts. Instead, this all-American envoy finds Europe growing on him. Strether also becomes involved in a very Jamesian "relation" with the fascinating Miss Maria Gostrey, a fellow American and informal Sacajawea to her compatriots. Clearly Paris has "improved" Chad beyond recognition, and convincing him to return to the U.S. is going to be a very, very hard sell. Suspense, of course, is hardly James's stock-in-trade. But there is no more meticulous mapper of tone and atmosphere, nuance and implication. His hyper-refined characters are at their best in dialogue, particularly when they're exchanging morsels of gossip. Astute, funny, and relentlessly intelligent, James amply fulfills his own description of the novelist as a person upon whom nothing is lost.
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Anyone want to discuss this book?
I have recently started reading this book, and though I do enjoy the writing of James, I find it can be a bit difficult at times. I think that discussing this book might help greater understanding, and allow one to pull more meaning from it. Would anyone be interested in discussing this book?
Posted By Dark Muse at Wed 20 Aug 2008, 10:25 PM in The Ambassadors || 5 Replies
Deciphering 'The Ambassadors'
I joined this forum in the hopes of finding someone with whom to discuss the meaning of certain passages in James's 'The Ambassadors'. It is not often that I can read sentences without having any idea of what has been said. If anyone would like to have a go at it with me, please let me know.
Posted By Covert at Tue 12 Feb 2008, 5:57 PM in The Ambassadors || 3 Replies