Henry James' 1878 publication that brought him international fame, "Daisy Miller" is subtitled "A Study in Two Parts." The plot centers around a Europeanized American man named Winterbourne, who meets a nouveau riche American woman going by the name Daisy Miller. A short novel, James wields the sword of fiction to craft a "study" of the roles of men and women, social relationships, cultural intersection, the allure of money, foolishness and wisdom, the responsibilities of parents, and the impact of one's life upon others.

The lives of two men-Roderick Hudson, a gifted sculptor, and Rowland Mallet, Roderick's benefactor-are tragically altered by love after they travel to Europe to further Hudson's career. Mallet, a wealthy bachelor, finds himself hopelessly in love with Mary Garland, a distant cousin of Roderick's engaged to marry the sculptor. Hudson, despite his engagement, falls desperately in love with Christina Light, one of the most beautiful women in Europe, and who is also engaged to another. And as Hudson's obsession with Christina grows, he abandons his talent to embrace the lifestyle of the European...

Christopher Newman, a wealthy American, falls in love with a French aristocrat, Claire de Cintre, while visiting Paris. Her family objects very strongly to their engagement because Newman lacks European culture and social status. When Newman learns that Claire's mother, the Marquise, had killed her husband, he threatens her with the evidence. Still she refuses to sanction the marriage. Claire renounces the engagement and determines to be a nun. Newman, disgusted with himself as well as the French family, decides not to reveal the crime and resigns himself to his loss. He is a victim of...

This brilliant satire of the women's rights movement in America is the story of the ravishing inspirational speaker Verena Tarrant and the bitter struggle between two distant cousins who seek to control her. Will the privileged Boston feminist Olive Chancellor succeed in turning her beloved ward into a celebrated activist and lifetime companion? Or will Basil Ransom, a conservative southern lawyer, steal Verena's heart and remove her from the limelight?

Dr. Austin Sloper, a wealthy and highly successful physician, lives in Washington Square, New York, with his daughter Catherine. Catherine is a sweet-natured young woman who is a great disappointment to her father, being physically plain and, he believes, dull in terms of personality and intellect. His sister, Lavinia Penniman, a meddlesome woman with a weakness for romance and melodrama, is the only other member of the doctor's household.