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THE AMBASSADORS: A Novel
by James, Henry
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Middletown, Maryland, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1903. First U.S. edition of the novel James considered to be his best. Differs somewhat from the UK edition. Very good to near fine with corners lightly bumped, board visible at upper front corner (just a tiny spot), and first and last few leaves faintly foxed; in very good to near fine blue cloth-over-paper dust jacket with minor soiling to rear panel and just a touch of light edge rubbing. Still, quite attractive.
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
- Quill & Brush
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 54955
- Title
- THE AMBASSADORS: A Novel
- Author
- James, Henry
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Harper & Brothers
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1903
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
Quill & Brush
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About the Seller
Quill & Brush
Biblio member since 2007
Middletown, Maryland
About Quill & Brush
Quill & Brush was established in 1976 by Allen & Patricia Ahearn, the authors of the well-respected reference for booksellers and collectors, Collected Books: The Guide to Identification and Values.At present the Quill & Brush is run by the Ahearns' eldest daughter, Beth Fisher. Allen is semi-retired but continues to buy, sell, and perform professional appraisals.
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...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
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