The Europeans

Written by Henry James

Narrated by Peter Joyce

One of Henry James’ main themes was the interaction between the Old World and the New. Restless Baroness Eugenia Munster and her charming bohemian brother Felix are visiting their American cousins in Boston, New England. The effect these two extravagant characters have on their austere Puritan relations forms the substance of the book and is told in a series of scenes or ‘sketches’. The author writes with subtly observed good humour which accelerates and escalates into higher comedy as Felix, the main protagonist, manipulates his cousin’s emotional affiliations. James is most impartial and so the wit is at the expense of neither faction, although one suspects that his sympathies lie more with the European temperament rather than the cloistered sensibilities of New England, a suspicion given credence by the fact that, after living in Britain for twenty years, he eventually obtained citizenship. In a letter to the publisher, outlining his plan for the novel, James wrote; ‘I agree to squeeze my buxom muse… I will lace her so tight that she shall have the neatest little figure in the world. It shall be a very joyous little romance..’ He succeeded brilliantly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Assembled Stories
• Release date: Jan 6, 2007
• ISBN: 9781860152962

Henry James

Henry James (1843-1916) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and non-fiction. He spent most of his life in Europe, and much of his work regards the interactions and complexities between American and European characters. Among his works in this vein are The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Bostonians (1886), and The Ambassadors (1903). Through his influence, James ushered in the era of American realism in literature. In his lifetime he wrote 12 plays, 112 short stories, 20 novels, and many travel and critical works. He was nominated three times for the Noble Prize in Literature.