The American - Henry James torrent

Category: Classic, Literature
Language: English
Keywords: 1800's Culture Shock Expatriate Social Drama

Written by Henry James
Read by Robin Lawson
Format: MP3
Bitrate: Mixed
Unabridged

During a trip to Europe, wealthy American businessman Christopher Newman proposes marriage to the scintillating and beautiful aristocrat Claire de Cintré. To his dismay, he comes up against the machinations of her impoverished but proud family, who find Newman to be a vulgar example of the American privileged class. Brilliantly combining elements of comedy, tragedy, romance, and melodrama, this tale of thwarted desire vividly contrasts 19th-century American and European manners.

Literary critic Leon Edel, considered the foremost authority on the works of Henry James, wrote of this novel: “Behind its melodrama and its simple romance is the history of man’s dream of better worlds, travel to strange lands, and marriage to high and noble ladies. At the same time, the book reveals a deep affection for American innocence and a deep awareness that such innocence carries with it a fund of ignorance.”

February 22 2012
13 hrs and 42 mins

(Also check out the Naxos recording as narrated by Adam Sims)