Washington square - Henry James

Washington Square, first published in serial form in 1880, and in book form in 1881, belongs with Henry James's early novels. Though small in scale, it is masterly in execution and has all the wit and epigrammatic concentration that characterise James's later work. Although at first reviews tended to be unfavourable, by 1916 no less a critic than Rebecca West had pronounced it 'a work of genius'.

Catherine Sloper at the age of twenty-two, described as a 'dull, plain girl' by her most rigorous critics, and 'uncomfortably, painfully shy' would not seem to be the conventional heroine. Although she is neither clever nor beautiful, Morris Townsend finds Catherine charming – no doubt more on account of the substantial fortune she is due to inherit than her personality. Doctor Sloper, however, perceives Townsend's real intentions, and in his dry, slightly mocking manner, does all in his power to prevent the engagement; his widowed sister, Mrs Penniman, with all her foolish romanticism does her best to encourage the alliance. And so the novel unwinds against the backdrop of Washington Square...