Washington Square

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. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine


With this performance, narrator Adam Sims sounds both historical and contemporary, bridging the time span between James's nineteenth-century novel and the present day with style. His brisk pace and youthful tone seem modern, while his sharp-edged, superbly enunciated syllables hark back to an earlier time. This dichotomy works to the listener's advantage: One feels transported back in time without any problems with comprehension or attention. As Catherine Sloper grows up under the eye of her widowed father, she is found wanting, according to the standards of her social status. When a dashing suitor appears on the scene, his intentions are questioned, and the conflict ensues. This is a good performance of a great classic. L.B.F. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine