Washoe County Library System

In this small masterpiece of unrequited love, Henry James, as in his greatest novels, depicts a moral consciousness torn between emotional impulses and the demands of society. Working in a post office in Mayfair, a young woman is exposed to the cryptic but alluring correspondence of the social elite, and in particular, to lines written by the dashing Captain Everard. As she memorizes the messages he telegraphs, she becomes increasingly attracted to...

Henry James' 1902 novel, set in London and Venice, in which Milly Theale, a young heiress with a short time to live, sets out to make her life worthwhile--as Merton Densher and Kate Croy set forth on a plan of betrayal.

Henry James conceived the character of Hyacinth Robinson—his 'little presumptuous adventurer with his combination of intrinsic fineness and fortuitous adversity'—while walking the streets of London. Brought up in poverty, Hyacinth has nevertheless developed aesthetic tastes that heighten his awareness of the sordid misery around him. He is drawn into the secret world of revolutionary politics and, in a moment of fervour, makes a vow that he will...