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The Ambassadors (Konemann Classics)
by Henry James
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Fine/Fine
- ISBN 10
- 3895082309
- ISBN 13
- 9783895082306
- Seller
-
Arlington, Virginia, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Cologne: Konemann, 1998. Hardcover. Fine book in a Fine jacket. Remainder dot on bottom edge, otherwise pristine inside and out. Not from a library. Not clipped. A beautiful volume, suitable for gifting. 463 pages. The collision of American innocence with European experience. Concerned that her son Chad may have become involved with a woman of dubious reputation, the formidable Mrs. Newsome sends her 'ambassador' Strether from Massachusetts to Paris to extricate him. Strether's mission, however, is gradually undermined as he falls under the spell of the city and finds Chad refined rather than corrupted by its influence and that of his charming companion, the comtesse de Vionnet. As the summer wears on, Mrs. Newsome comes to the conclusion that she must send another envoy to Paris to confront the errant Chad, and a Strether whose view of the world has changed profoundly. James' favorite novel and one of the greatest of his late works, "The Ambassadors" is a subtle and often witty exploration of different American responses to a European environment.
Synopsis
Chad Newsome has gone to Paris. He is charmed by Old World fascinations and caught up in the leisurely craft and bohemian direction of European worldliness. An older woman of rank and adventurous but subtle skill, Madame de Vionnet, strokes his ego and does her best to keep Chad in Paris indefinitely. Chad's mother lives in Woollett, Mass., and wants her son to return to run the family business. Mrs. Newsome is an invalid and cannot go to Paris to fetch her son herself, so she employs Lambert Strether and Sarah Pocock to return Chad to Massachusetts. Sarah has been to Paris before and is aware of its attractiveness, so her determination to succeed in this task is fixed and uncompromising. Strether is of later middle age, however, and inspired by the fairytale of a beautiful life in Europe. Mrs. Newsome has promised to marry Strether if he can bring Chad home. Strether is completely enamored by the Parisian character and its enchantments and has a difficult time completing his mission. The drama of reestablishing Chad in business in America and of coming to terms with the mythological romance of France leaves the reader unbalanced, trying to recover equilibrium in the real world. Those involved with Chad's rescue are compelled to recognize the deep intimacies of personal attachment and the accepted proprieties of direct consequence. The success and failures of such an undertaking are unpredictable. The result of every character's attempt to steer Chad rightly is a strange conglomeration of role reversal, fantasy, and truth.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Books of the World
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- RWARE0000000167
- Title
- The Ambassadors (Konemann Classics)
- Author
- Henry James
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- ISBN 10
- 3895082309
- ISBN 13
- 9783895082306
- Publisher
- Konemann
- Place of Publication
- Cologne
- Date Published
- 1998
- Pages
- 463
- Size
- 12mo
- Keywords
- fiction, classics, comedy, romance, Americans, Paris, France
- Bookseller catalogs
- Fiction; Europe; Erotica; Humor, Comedy, Satire, Funny stuff; Britain; France;
Terms of Sale
Books of the World
30 day return guarantee, with full refund if an item arrives mis-described or damaged.
About the Seller
Books of the World
Biblio member since 2017
Arlington, Virginia
About Books of the World
Finding new homes for the library I collected over five decades of travel around the world.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Remainder
- Book(s) which are sold at a very deep discount to alleviate publisher overstock. Often, though not always, they have a remainder...
This Book’s Categories
- Fiction & Literature Fiction by Region American Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Fiction by Region British Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Classic Literature
- Fiction & Literature English Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Fiction by Region French Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Humorous Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Literary Studies Literary Criticism
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