The Bostonians by Henry James is Published
The Bostonians is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Century Magazine in 1885–1886 and then as a book in 1886.
This bittersweet tragicomedy centers on an odd triangle of characters: Basil Ransom, an unbending political conservative from Mississippi; Olive Chancellor, Ransom's cousin and a militant Boston feminist; and Verena Tarrant, a pretty, young protege of Olive's in the feminist movement. The storyline concerns the struggle between Ransom and Olive for Verena's allegiance and affection, though the novel also includes a wide panorama of political activists, newspaper people, and quirky eccentrics.
“This is one book of Henry james' that has been slighted. It is a study of the conflict between a male and female cousin over the place of first standing in a mutual woman's affections. The female wants to use her for her social drive toward women's equal political/legal rights - the male wants her for his wife in an old-fashioned marriage. The male wins. A fantastic book.”
— Kelly Whiting, Scholar
