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The Romance of Certain Old Clothes
Towards each other, however, they were somewhat more on the offensive. They were good sisterly friends, betwixt whom it would take more than a day for the seeds of jealousy to sprout and bear fruit; but the young girls felt that the seeds had been sown on the day that Mr. Lloyd came into the house. Each made up her mind that, if she should be slighted, she would bear her grief in silence, and that no-one should be any the wiser; for if they had a great deal of love, they had also a great deal of pride.
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1868
11 people are currently reading
463 people want to read
About the author
Henry James
4,604 books3,958 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 - 30 of 92 reviews
September 17, 2025
Ooh spooky! A short story about two sisters who want to marry the same man. Be careful what you wish for is all I can say! Here’s the link http://public-library.uk/ebooks/83/21...
July 20, 2021
This is a short story that is classified as a ghost story. This short story is about two sisters and they both want the same man. Which one gets the man while the other loses out?
This is a very quick read and even though it is a quick read the author establishes the atmosphere easily. This is considered a ghost story but there is so much more to this story. There is the main aspect of jealousy throughout but also familial competition. The aspect that sold me on this short story is that I believe either sister is in the right and I side with both of them. One sister wants a legacy for her child but the other sister is tired of living in her shadow while her life could be for the better. Both sisters have a valid point while the husband is caught in between. The final act is terrific and will make readers gasp.
I wanted to read this story because of the episode of Haunting of Bly Manor where they adapt this story. I loved that episode as they remained faithful to the story. Even knowing how it all plays out I was still enraptured with this story.
This is a very quick read and even though it is a quick read the author establishes the atmosphere easily. This is considered a ghost story but there is so much more to this story. There is the main aspect of jealousy throughout but also familial competition. The aspect that sold me on this short story is that I believe either sister is in the right and I side with both of them. One sister wants a legacy for her child but the other sister is tired of living in her shadow while her life could be for the better. Both sisters have a valid point while the husband is caught in between. The final act is terrific and will make readers gasp.
I wanted to read this story because of the episode of Haunting of Bly Manor where they adapt this story. I loved that episode as they remained faithful to the story. Even knowing how it all plays out I was still enraptured with this story.
October 17, 2020
In the spirit of halloween, a 19th century ghost story...the best kind. A dash of sibling rivalry, a portion of fancy dresses, one indecisive courtier, and a pound of jealousy, and you have a rolicking good tale.
Thanks to Petra for passing it along...and I will do the same.
Read it Here
Thanks to Petra for passing it along...and I will do the same.
Read it Here
October 31, 2020
Such a meaty story packed into so few pages! Characters are revealed in this tale of family jealousy, all draped in silk and ribbons amid homes with huge fireplaces and attic stairs and trunks with metal bands. Henry James, it has been too long, and now I’m hungry for more!
Thank you to Sara for steering me to another great one. You'll find her review and link to the story here
Thank you to Sara for steering me to another great one. You'll find her review and link to the story here
November 1, 2020
A terrific short ghost story by Henry James, very well- told. Thank you to Sara for the link.
November 16, 2024
"There was a sense of melancholy hanging in the air, as if the very house were mourning some long-forgotten tragedy.."
July 2, 2018
A Review of “The Romance of Certain Old Clothes” (1868) by Henry James
James did not think enough of this story to include it in the authoritative New York Edition of his works. And yet it is important both as self-revelation (probably unintended) and as the first in his series of Gothic tales culminating thirty years later in “The Turn of the Screw.”
This tale is set in New England prior to the Revolutionary War, which helps distance it from the supposed skepticism of late nineteenth century readers about the supernatural events characteristic of Gothic fiction. The repressive atmosphere of early American Puritanism is evident in the contrast between the morally unimpeachable outward manner of the two sisters at the center of the story and their fierce hidden jealousy of one another. Rosalind and her younger, slightly more attractive sister Perdita are competing without saying so for the favor of Arthur Lloyd, a British gentleman with a sizeable fortune who attended Oxford with their brother, Bernard, and who has accompanied him to the Colonies intending to make some profitable investments. Perdita wins Arthur, the day of her marriage arrives and Rosalind, while wishing her sister well, inwardly seethes with resentment at her victory.
Perdita changes her clothes after her wedding ceremony but notices that Rosalind is not present to see her off. So she returns to her bedroom to find Rosalind there wearing her wedding dress, a sight that makes her realize the enormity of her sister’s jealousy. A year into Perdita’s marriage, however, she grows ill after bearing her first child and sends for her husband, who has stopped off for a visit at his sister-in-law’s. Arthur arrives home several hours late, and Perdita takes a turn for the worse when she hears him admitting, like innocence itself, that his lateness was due to his riding out with Rosalind. Before her death Perdita, understandably suspicious of her sister, entreats Arthur to lock up her wedding clothes and save them for their baby daughter when she herself gets married. Arthur complies.
Rosalind then acts out her continuing jealousy by conniving to marry Arthur who, after an acceptable period of mourning his first wife, congratulates himself on obtaining “a devilish fine woman.” But after three years of marriage Rosalind bears him no children and Arthur himself suffers significant business losses. Feeling deprived of her deceased sister’s more luxurious lifestyle, Rosalind talks her husband into unlocking the chest containing Perdita’s trousseau and Arthur, unable to resist a woman’s sobbing, finally complies with his second wife’s wishes as he had with those of his first. But here James, as if unable tolerate any more of Rosalind’s trespassing on the terrain of others’ lives, stops it for good by having her supernaturally choked to death.
James’s eminent biographer Leon Edel tells us that Henry James, while unfailingly cordial and respectful toward his brother, the future philosopher William James, was inwardly as ferociously competitive with him as the fictional Rosalind is with Perdita. In fact Henry, not long before he wrote “The Romance of Old Clothes” had his tailor send him a suit made of the same cloth as one belonging to William. Henry’s transfer of his male rivalry with William to the fictional Rosalind is consistent with the misogyny of Henry’s other early tales, and the supernatural death Henry inflicts on Rosalind at the end of the story may well be his way of punishing himself for his attempted takeovers of his brother William’s life.
Henry James is often called a psychological realist in part because he breaks with his inherited Puritanism by not hiding our baser thoughts and feelings and the contradiction they pose to our self-images as moral beings. Imagining ourselves trespassing on forbidden territory (we now like to call it “border crossing”) is a reality of our inner lives we have somehow to reconcile with our higher aspirations.
James did not think enough of this story to include it in the authoritative New York Edition of his works. And yet it is important both as self-revelation (probably unintended) and as the first in his series of Gothic tales culminating thirty years later in “The Turn of the Screw.”
This tale is set in New England prior to the Revolutionary War, which helps distance it from the supposed skepticism of late nineteenth century readers about the supernatural events characteristic of Gothic fiction. The repressive atmosphere of early American Puritanism is evident in the contrast between the morally unimpeachable outward manner of the two sisters at the center of the story and their fierce hidden jealousy of one another. Rosalind and her younger, slightly more attractive sister Perdita are competing without saying so for the favor of Arthur Lloyd, a British gentleman with a sizeable fortune who attended Oxford with their brother, Bernard, and who has accompanied him to the Colonies intending to make some profitable investments. Perdita wins Arthur, the day of her marriage arrives and Rosalind, while wishing her sister well, inwardly seethes with resentment at her victory.
Perdita changes her clothes after her wedding ceremony but notices that Rosalind is not present to see her off. So she returns to her bedroom to find Rosalind there wearing her wedding dress, a sight that makes her realize the enormity of her sister’s jealousy. A year into Perdita’s marriage, however, she grows ill after bearing her first child and sends for her husband, who has stopped off for a visit at his sister-in-law’s. Arthur arrives home several hours late, and Perdita takes a turn for the worse when she hears him admitting, like innocence itself, that his lateness was due to his riding out with Rosalind. Before her death Perdita, understandably suspicious of her sister, entreats Arthur to lock up her wedding clothes and save them for their baby daughter when she herself gets married. Arthur complies.
Rosalind then acts out her continuing jealousy by conniving to marry Arthur who, after an acceptable period of mourning his first wife, congratulates himself on obtaining “a devilish fine woman.” But after three years of marriage Rosalind bears him no children and Arthur himself suffers significant business losses. Feeling deprived of her deceased sister’s more luxurious lifestyle, Rosalind talks her husband into unlocking the chest containing Perdita’s trousseau and Arthur, unable to resist a woman’s sobbing, finally complies with his second wife’s wishes as he had with those of his first. But here James, as if unable tolerate any more of Rosalind’s trespassing on the terrain of others’ lives, stops it for good by having her supernaturally choked to death.
James’s eminent biographer Leon Edel tells us that Henry James, while unfailingly cordial and respectful toward his brother, the future philosopher William James, was inwardly as ferociously competitive with him as the fictional Rosalind is with Perdita. In fact Henry, not long before he wrote “The Romance of Old Clothes” had his tailor send him a suit made of the same cloth as one belonging to William. Henry’s transfer of his male rivalry with William to the fictional Rosalind is consistent with the misogyny of Henry’s other early tales, and the supernatural death Henry inflicts on Rosalind at the end of the story may well be his way of punishing himself for his attempted takeovers of his brother William’s life.
Henry James is often called a psychological realist in part because he breaks with his inherited Puritanism by not hiding our baser thoughts and feelings and the contradiction they pose to our self-images as moral beings. Imagining ourselves trespassing on forbidden territory (we now like to call it “border crossing”) is a reality of our inner lives we have somehow to reconcile with our higher aspirations.
October 17, 2020
This story kept me interested throughout, from first page to last.
Like most good ghost stories, there isn't anything specific to put one's finger on why there's a ghostly atmosphere. This is an ordinary story of jealousy......and yet it's more. It's eerie and ghostly.
Did Viola curse Perdita? Did Perdita curse Viola? How far does jealousy go?
A short story that was a fun read.
Like most good ghost stories, there isn't anything specific to put one's finger on why there's a ghostly atmosphere. This is an ordinary story of jealousy......and yet it's more. It's eerie and ghostly.
Did Viola curse Perdita? Did Perdita curse Viola? How far does jealousy go?
A short story that was a fun read.
November 5, 2020
Great short story. Adapted almost exactly in episode 8 of Bly Manor on Netflix
July 23, 2017
Tudo ia bem entre as irmãs wingrave que residiam em uma cidadezinha da Inglaterra, até que a chegada de um homem da capital faz com que a relação entre ambas nunca mais seja a mesma numa luta intensa para serem escolhidas por ele para ser sua novia...inveja , cobiça e morte regem esse conto.
December 15, 2015
2.5
Sadly the Wingrave sisters didn't follow the sisters before misters rule and ended up dead.
Sadly the Wingrave sisters didn't follow the sisters before misters rule and ended up dead.
May 26, 2022
When the narrator in Henry James' stories focus on family dynamics, the narrator gets so much right. Here the sisters here start out as being similar. The suitor chooses one sister, and the rest of the drama of the story is set in motion.
Jealousy and Envy of the sisters drive the story.
A bunch of black magic. One does not have to look like a black-magic witch to be one.
Jealousy and Envy of the sisters drive the story.
A bunch of black magic. One does not have to look like a black-magic witch to be one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2021
I read this after watching the TV movie (adapted by Dark Shadows writer Art Wallace, and starring a very young Susan Sarandon.) This was a case where I actually thought the movie was better—and spookier.
May 8, 2022
Classified as a classic "ghost" story, this feels more like an elaborate fairy/folk tale, with a supernatural twist at the end. This was my first Henry James story and I can't say I was too impressed.
May 6, 2024
The imagination of women is especially adapted to the various little conventions and mysteries of polite society.
An early "ghost story" from Henry James, one that is relatively straightforward and simply rewarding.
Is it normal to effuse about punctuation? Yes! I was thrilled here to encounter multiple examples of a combination comma and dash,—quite sensational yet perfectly understated.
But there is more to this short story than quirky old-fashioned type-setting. There is also character development, subtle plotting and foreshadowing, scene-setting, and emotional verisimilitude,—all contributing to a quietly powerful and rewarding story from the mysterious depths of Henry James.
An early "ghost story" from Henry James, one that is relatively straightforward and simply rewarding.
Is it normal to effuse about punctuation? Yes! I was thrilled here to encounter multiple examples of a combination comma and dash,—quite sensational yet perfectly understated.
But there is more to this short story than quirky old-fashioned type-setting. There is also character development, subtle plotting and foreshadowing, scene-setting, and emotional verisimilitude,—all contributing to a quietly powerful and rewarding story from the mysterious depths of Henry James.
November 22, 2020
'The Haunting of Bly Manor' es de las mejores series que he visto este año, y jamás olvidaré la narrativa del capítulo 8. Curiosamente, y poco sabía, la historia se desprende de esta microficción de Henry James.
Me pareció una lectura espléndida, ideal para el Día de Muertos.
Me pareció una lectura espléndida, ideal para el Día de Muertos.
November 12, 2019
Relato corto con algunos elementos góticos, no lo mejor de Henry James sin embargo entretiene.
June 3, 2021
This was an enjoyable selection for my short-story book club. It involved an amazingly complex discussion. Although this is often classified as a ghost story, there was certainly enough of the tale to satisfy credibility. I do not want to spoil the reading of the story to divulge too much here. After all, it is a short story. It is enough to tell that James has written about 18th century life, mores, family relationships and sibling rivalry. How these items implicate old clothes is up to the reader to determine!
March 29, 2020
Precioso cuento, muy bien escrito con una prosa muy cuidada, y con unos personajes entrañables.
Esencia literaria concentrada como los buenos perfumes.
Esencia literaria concentrada como los buenos perfumes.
October 23, 2020
Spookay!
May 24, 2021
Cuando empecé a leer este libro me di cuenta de que la historia me sonaba de algo hasta que al final caí en que "La maldición de Bly Manor" (serie que vi hace unos meses) se basa en esta obra. De hecho en ella se entremezclan dos relatos de James: este y "Otra vuelta de tuerca". Me resulta difícil hacer una valoración porque al haber visto antes la serie tengo la mente contaminada con su argumento. Este tipo de terror gótico siempre me sabe a poco. Es un cuento muy cortito, bien escrito pero en el que apenas pasa nada. No voy a mentir: me gustó más la serie, amplían mucho más lo que pasa en el libro y está todo muy bien hilado.
April 27, 2020
Henry James ve kalemiyle Yürek Burgusu romanıyla tanışmış, sevmiştim. Öyle olunca diğer çalışmalarını da gözüme kestirmemem düşünülemezdi sanırım.
Günler önce de sabahın kör saatlerinde benden bir şeyler okumam istenince bunu seçtim. ilk yarısını okuyup yorumlarken hayli eğlenmiş olsak da öykü bütünüyle bize hitap etti veyahut tatmin etti diyemem.
Wingrave ailesinin hayatına, özellikle de iki kız kardeş olan Rosalind ve Perdita’nın aynı adamla evlenme arzusuna, bu bağlamda gelişen olaylara bir bakış atıyoruz öyküde.
James’in dilini akıcı buluyorum ben, okurken sıkmıyor ya da ağır gelip anlama kaygısı yaşatmıyor hiç değilse benim açımdan. Diğer eserlerine de zamanla vakit ayıracağım.
Günler önce de sabahın kör saatlerinde benden bir şeyler okumam istenince bunu seçtim. ilk yarısını okuyup yorumlarken hayli eğlenmiş olsak da öykü bütünüyle bize hitap etti veyahut tatmin etti diyemem.
Wingrave ailesinin hayatına, özellikle de iki kız kardeş olan Rosalind ve Perdita’nın aynı adamla evlenme arzusuna, bu bağlamda gelişen olaylara bir bakış atıyoruz öyküde.
James’in dilini akıcı buluyorum ben, okurken sıkmıyor ya da ağır gelip anlama kaygısı yaşatmıyor hiç değilse benim açımdan. Diğer eserlerine de zamanla vakit ayıracağım.
November 21, 2022
Boy, I just love it. This is another inspiration behind one of the episodes of The Haunting of Bly Manor and man I adore reading the stories some tv shows or movies are inspired from. Seeing the parallels, but also the differences just hits different. Love this so much, I really have to rewatch Bly.
November 17, 2017
I have arranged my takeaway thoughts into a haiku:
"One product of love
Is knowing one's partner,
And where he'll succumb."
"One product of love
Is knowing one's partner,
And where he'll succumb."
October 24, 2022
This is my third Henry James ghost story after the Turn of the Screw and The Jolly Corner. This one has James' usual fine quality of prose style and interesting but dry characters, but does not display the psychological mastery that he shows in the other two ghost stories. The characters here have rather simple and prosaic motivations. The intervention of the supernatural is unambiguous and is designed to give a neat closure to the story arc. It's nicely written, but not a masterwork. Reading this was like listening to Mozart's early music - beautifully done, well constructed and full of promise, but lacking the depth, invention and genius that developed later.
January 26, 2021
i liked the originality. Not a fan of the writing, it's like the author tried to use many words without saying much. I admit, I felt sorry for , if my close relatives did the same to me, to let me act like a idiot for a time, I would be angry too. The bloody irony is that both of them but none of the survived much, poor fellow.
October 27, 2023
Be careful what you wish for. There’s always a catch.
September 9, 2024
3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A take on the subject of sibling rivalry. Not really scary but interesting nevertheless. The plot seemed very familiar while reading and I finally realized there is an adaptation on the “The Haunting of Bly Manor” series.
A take on the subject of sibling rivalry. Not really scary but interesting nevertheless. The plot seemed very familiar while reading and I finally realized there is an adaptation on the “The Haunting of Bly Manor” series.
October 10, 2018
Predictable and bland. All of the characters are a bore. Turn of the Screw was a masterpiece, but this one is just mediocre.
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