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Lady Barbarina
Henry James OM (15 April 1843 - 28 February 1916) was an American author, who became a British subject in the last year of his life, regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of renowned philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for a number of novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between �migr� Americans, English people, and continental Europeans. Examples of such novels include The Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors, and The Wings of the Dove. His later works were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often made use of a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He also wrote a number of other highly regarded ghost stories and is considered one of the greatest masters of the field.
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, one year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912 and 1916.
He is best known for a number of novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between �migr� Americans, English people, and continental Europeans. Examples of such novels include The Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors, and The Wings of the Dove. His later works were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often made use of a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He also wrote a number of other highly regarded ghost stories and is considered one of the greatest masters of the field.
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, one year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912 and 1916.
366 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1884
About the author
Henry James
4,711 books4,135 followersHenry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 23, 2016
A joint review of two long Henry James tales, The Siege of London and Lady Barberina? Who wouldn't want to write such a thing?
The two tales both date from the Portrait of a Lady era; they're classic James pieces about the love of an American and a European. They're also very interesting to read back to back, as I did, most obviously because the American in LB is a man chasing the eponymous Lady; whereas in SL the American is a woman chasing a Lord. Lady Barberina is not at all an interesting character; Mrs. Headway, however, is fabulous.
SL features some pale-imitation Trollopian names, as "Mrs Headway" suggests (other names: Littlemore, Demesne, Dolphin), but is otherwise excellent James, full of moral and psychological tension and problems. The structure is fairly tight, and the James ficelles are wonderfully done, emerging as proper human beings in their own right at the end. LB, on the other hand, is more formally ambitious. The ficelles aren't particularly helpful, but there are good reasons for that--the tale starts with an unusually visual scene (for James), a description of Hyde Park that, I half suspect, might owe something to actual paintings of those promenading. While SL more or less ends with (spoiler alert, but really, it's Henry James) a marriage, the marriage in LB occurs half way through. James seems to have wanted to think through not only the difficulties in setting up trans-Atlantic matches, as in SL, but the problems that might beset such relationships after the great comedic climax.
Unfortunately, LB doesn't do a very good job of that, and the tale is far weaker than SL because of it. The last, post-wedding sections feel rushed. Did James just get bored? Did he prefer to work on Portrait? Or was he, in fact, not able to depict (the reasons for) an unhappy marriage convincingly? All questions I would like to know the answer to.
The two tales both date from the Portrait of a Lady era; they're classic James pieces about the love of an American and a European. They're also very interesting to read back to back, as I did, most obviously because the American in LB is a man chasing the eponymous Lady; whereas in SL the American is a woman chasing a Lord. Lady Barberina is not at all an interesting character; Mrs. Headway, however, is fabulous.
SL features some pale-imitation Trollopian names, as "Mrs Headway" suggests (other names: Littlemore, Demesne, Dolphin), but is otherwise excellent James, full of moral and psychological tension and problems. The structure is fairly tight, and the James ficelles are wonderfully done, emerging as proper human beings in their own right at the end. LB, on the other hand, is more formally ambitious. The ficelles aren't particularly helpful, but there are good reasons for that--the tale starts with an unusually visual scene (for James), a description of Hyde Park that, I half suspect, might owe something to actual paintings of those promenading. While SL more or less ends with (spoiler alert, but really, it's Henry James) a marriage, the marriage in LB occurs half way through. James seems to have wanted to think through not only the difficulties in setting up trans-Atlantic matches, as in SL, but the problems that might beset such relationships after the great comedic climax.
Unfortunately, LB doesn't do a very good job of that, and the tale is far weaker than SL because of it. The last, post-wedding sections feel rushed. Did James just get bored? Did he prefer to work on Portrait? Or was he, in fact, not able to depict (the reasons for) an unhappy marriage convincingly? All questions I would like to know the answer to.
October 29, 2023
This is a hidden gem! So funny ❤️❤️
March 5, 2015
Started out with the potential to have a portrait of the dynamics of courting and proposals - even role reversals - across country and culture- but the story was ultimately as bland as the title character herself.
November 24, 2022
so the thing is that I feel like Henry was TOO focused on pointing out every little difference between European and American culture. I totally understand but NOT believing that a lady barbarian could be one of them was utterly against my thoughts and I do think that the problem was the lady barbarian because she herself DIDNOT believe that she could adapt so automatically her unconscious bias did not let it happen. the language structure was kind of odd for me through the end IDK maybe because it'd gotten boring. after reading this book once again I realized how much I love the American culture and the way their brains have worked from the past till now.
June 24, 2022
(3.4/5) De todos os romances clássicos esse deve ser o que apresenta o obstáculo mais ridículo na vida do casal. Nada como a rede de fofocas do século XIX, mas nada muito além disso, poderia ser um caso monótono real e ninguém nunca desconfiaria.
November 11, 2023
Ein paar funkelnde Dialoge, sehr unrunde und unübersichtliche Konstruktion.
https://hansblog.de/kritik-erzaehlung...
https://hansblog.de/kritik-erzaehlung...
November 12, 2023
Una historia con descripciones psicológicas bastante logradas. Sin embargo, no deja de ser un relato bastante simple y plano, sobre la vida amorosa bastante aburrida de unos burgueses.
August 18, 2023
Audiobook--Librivox edition, read by Nicholas Clifford
May 19, 2026
Boring. No ghosts at all.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews