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The Ambassadors
by Henry James
- Used
- Very Good
- Hardcover
- Signed
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
Formby, Merseyside, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: J M Dent. Very Good. 1959. Hardcover. The book is tightly bound, top edge is browned. Dust jacket is worn to the extremities, spine sunned/faded. Internally generally clean, occasional markings, free of foxing. ; From the library of David Lodge. David Lodge is an English author and critic. A literature professor at the University of Birmingham until 1987, some of his novels satirise academic life, another theme is Roman Catholicism. Two of his novels were shortlisted for the Booker Prize; he also served as the chairman on the Booker Prize jury in 1989. Lodge has also written television screenplays and three stage plays. After retiring, he continued to publish literary criticism. Signed by Lodge on the half-title page. ; Everyman's Library; Vol. 987; 370 pages .
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
- Truffle Books
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 234
- Title
- The Ambassadors
- Author
- Henry James
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Publisher
- J M Dent
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1959
Terms of Sale
Truffle Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Truffle Books
Biblio member since 2021
Formby, Merseyside
About Truffle Books
Truffle Books was created by the coming together of 4 experienced book-dealers. We tend to specialise in modern first editions but we also have a good selection of antiquarian books. We have a large selection of books in stock and there are always a significant number of books not online, so if you cannot see what you want, please ask, we may well be able to find the book that you want.
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