Review Washington Square, a tale of a young woman who is caught between her domineering father and her fortune-hunting suitor, is sensitively read by [Lloyd] James, who offers a compassionate interpretation of the protagonist's plight.-- "Booklist""Henry James is as solitary in the history of the novel as Shakespeare is in the history of poetry."-- "Graham Greene""Lloyd James gives an excellent reading. His voice is very pleasant and his rendering of the text is subtle and well paced."-- "Kliatt"Every line, every paragraph, every chapter [of Washington Square] is a fleet-footed light brigade, an engine of irony. -- "Cynthia Ozick, American-Jewish short story writer, novelist, and essayist"Everybody likes Washington Square, even the denigrators of Henry James.-- "Donald Hall"James wrote Washington Square in 1881, six years after his permanent departure from America for Europe. It's simple on the surface, complex and devastating below: a tale of quiet betrayals and the death of the heart.-- "Chicago Tribune" Product Description On New York City's Washington Square lives Catherine Sloper, a shy and plain young woman who is tyrannized by her wealthy, overbearing father. When young Morris Townsend begins to court her, Dr. Sloper distrusts his motives, believing that the young man could not possibly love his daughter. Both lovers are obstinate in their affections; but when Dr. Sloper threatens to disinherit Catherine, Townsend disappears, leaving Catherine to humiliation, heartache, and lonely spinsterhood. Years later, after her father's death, Townsend returns, and Catherine must make up her own mind about his intentions. About the Author Henry James (1843-1916), American novelist, short-story writer, and man of letters, was born in Washington Place, New York, to a family of distinguished philosophers and theologians. He attended schools in New York, Boston, and throughout Europe, where he later settled. A major figure in the history of the novel, he is celebrated as a master craftsman who brought his great art and impeccable technique to bear in the development of abiding moral themes.Lloyd James (a.k.a. Sean Pratt) has been narrating since 1996 and has recorded over six hundred audiobooks. He is a seven-time winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award and has twice been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award. His critically acclaimed performances include Elvis in the Morning by William F. Buckley Jr. and Searching for Bobby Fischer by Fred Waitzkin, among others. From AudioFile This 1880 novel takes place in the New York society familiar to James from his childhood and is from the same period in his life that produced PORTRAIT OF A LADY. Here too he is concerned with the judgment, and fate, of a sheltered young lady of means who may not understand the true motives of the man who courts her. Catherine Sloper is the unexceptional, overdressed only child of Dr. Austin Sloper, who cannot believe that the attractive and shiny young Morris Townsend could be drawn by his daughter's charms alone, such as they are--and Dr. Sloper is a man of action. It's James at the top of his form, and Lloyd James reads effectively, if with an odd lack of energy. B.G. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine