When I first read this book about two years ago it disgusted me profoundly. I found the main character, Lord Peter Wimsey, exasperant, his servant too 'servile' and the language bewildering. Two years later I am inclined to be a little less partial; still...

"Whose body?" was the first mystery story Dorothy L. Sayers wrote, where she introduced us to her sleuth, the debonair, rich, book collector and nonsense-talking Lord Peter. He lives in a posh Picadilly apartment with a manservant by the name of Mervyn Bunter. I always thought Bunter could have been further developed; simply because he seems to have much more of a head on his shoulders and his feet on the floor than his employer does. In this, their first adventure, Lord Peter is made aware by his mother, the enchanting and very shrewd Dowager Duchess of Denver, of an unknown body being found on a neighboor's bathroom. No one seems to know who the unfortunate individual was, nor how he happened upon the bathroom of poor old Mr. Thipps. So in comes Lord Peter with his nonsense talk and his charming ways to investigate. He has a good friend who 'just happens' to be an actual detective and who will, in time, facilitate his work through official channels. I must say one thing that surprised me is how Lord Peter can make all the deductions until he finally elucidates the crime, while still being so much devoid of bright comments; but there we have it.

There is a lot of dialogue in this novel and I find that a plus. I am a big fan of dialogue in fiction because I find it a great tool for natural development of the story. However, not everyone will understand a Londoner's words and mannerisms and this could be confusing, even irritating, at times. Sayers is not, and I repeat, is not, your typical mystery writer 'a la Christie'. She was a scholar and a Christian writer at that and likes to bring these ideas into her stories. I think that's why she also decided to show in this book such anti-semitic ideas against the Jews, that not even the now deceased Dowager Duke of Denver (Lord Peter's father), could tolerate them in his castle. Anti-semitism aside, this book is not for everyone. It demands a bit of an open mind and a good knowlegde of both British customs and language.

What I did like about the book is what I always try to find in mysteries: the description of the different settings. Fine rare books and mahogany furniture, prime dining and a big estate in the country surround Lord Peter's life. Idealistic? Maybe, but no less charming.

"Whose Body?" is the first Lord Peter Wimsey novel written by Dorothy Sayers in the 1920s, and was the second I read after "Gaudy Night." As someone who generally likes to read series in order, I still have to say it was fun knowing the type of put together gentleman that Lord Peter will become even as I enjoyed reading of his casual manner and clever impulsiveness in his first big fully-recorded case.

Lord Peter must figure out what happened to a naked dead man that an architect friend of his mother's finds in his London bathtub one night wearing only a pair of pince-nez glasses. Meanwhile a rich London financier has turned up missing. Peter is not the first to make the connection, but no one but he can possibly figure out that what connection there is to be made wasn't quite the one the police came up with.

"Whose Body?" is short, clever and enjoyable. Sayers is an excellent and sympathetic writer who respects both her characters and the reader. Her very much alive English settings, both the cold wet bogs and the warm dry fireplaces make Wimsey's world feel like a place I could happily call home. And if you like this one they keep getting better as the series progresses. Cheers!

With her first book Whose Body? (1923), Dorothy L. Sayers introduced her famous detective Lord Peter Wimsey, or "Sherlock Holmes, disguised as a walking gentleman", and established herself as a mistress of the detective story.

Although Lord Peter Wimsey is here perhaps too bright and breezy, he proves to be an entertaining companion to crime, despite his suffering from conscience. He enjoys the detection, "but if it comes to really running down a live person and getting him hanged, or even quodded, poor devil, there don't seem as if there was any excuse for me buttin' in, since I don't have to make my livin' by it. And I feel as if I oughtn't ever to find it amusin'. But I do." The reader, who has no conscience to worry him, enjoys the whole thing without needing to consult their consciences, for the story is bright and amusing, well-written and often very funny, even if somewhat in the Wodehousian vein.

Although Lord Peter Wimsey is a vivid but undeveloped character, the rest of the characters are all quite vivid: the Dowager Duchess of Denver is an excellent character, and, by the standards of the day, Sayers seems to have not too much racism / anti-Semitism.

Despite all the humour, the serious business of detection is not neglected. Opening with the fine and striking idea of the body in the bathtub-rightly described as an "uncommon good incident for a detective story", and an interesting problem of identity-the trail gets more complicated with the disappearance of Sir Reuben Levy. The murderer's identity is revealed half-way through-a trait that would recur in later Sayers novels, and the pleasure of the second half of the book is in seeing an elaborate, ingenious, and often gory, plot unfold.

It is interesting to note that Sayers, an Anglo-Catholic, chose a scientist / atheist as her murderer, a villain who believes that "the knowledge of good and evil is an observed phenomenon, attendant upon a certain condition of the brain cells, which is removable..."-a belief striking at the very core of Christianity, and a belief leading the murderer to the belief that murder is a justifiable action. In this, Sayers resembles Chesterton, and, in particular, "The Wrong Shape". In Lord Peter Wimsey's realisation of the murderer's guilt, Christianity is again apparent, for Wimsey seems to solve the crime through receiving a divine revelation (although the clues are all there-detection from physical clues in the Thorndykean manner): "he remembered-not one thing, not another thing, nor a logical succession of things, but everything-the whole thing, perfect, complete, in all its dimensions as it were and instantaneously; as if he stood outside the world and saw it suspended in infinitely dimensional space. He no longer needed to reason about it, or even to think about it. He knew it."

An excellent first attempt at the detective story, and the reader can agree with Wimsey that although "this is only a blinkin' old shillin' shocker ... we're up against a criminal-the criminal-the real artist and blighter with imagination-real, artistic, finished stuff. I'm enjoying this."

This book is loaded with convincing and picturesque details of life at sea in a small fishing boat, and details particular to the time. But these are the book's best points.

Characters are 2-dimensional and relatively unconvincing, the prose is loaded with jargon (interesting and picturesque jargon, but still jargon), and the story line, though believable, is uninspired.

The basic tale is this: a spoiled rich brat falls off a luxury liner, and is saved from death in the depths by a small fishing boat. On the boat, for the first time in his life the brat must follow orders, and do some real work. It's a good basis for a story, but done unrealistically. (If you want to see the same basic idea done well, read "Sand", by Will James) The supposedly incorrigible brat converts overnight, and begins doing his best to learn the ropes. The conflict is over instantly, and all that is left to the book is the details of day-to-day on the fishing boat, with an occasional adventure.

It's not terrible; it is believable in most ways, loaded with interesting detail, and has a satisfying ending. But it has little or none of Kipling's more typical tales' whimsy and grace of language.

Captains Courageous is a wonderful story of a pampered and indulged boy, the son of a millionaire, named Harvey Cheyne. He has no responsibilities and is given anything he wants. He lacks respect for anyone and that includes himself. He is washed overboard from a luxury liner while on a trip with his mother and is picked up by a fisherman. The fishing boat can not return him immediately because they have a crew that needs to earn a living. Harvey's family presumes that he is dead, drowned at sea. The story of Harvey's growing up involves responsibilty, hard work, trust and honor. Rudyard Kipling tells the story marvelously. The story is brilliantly crafted and a pure delight to read. The language of the story gives it the feel of the times and helps illustrate the rough lifestyles involved. This is a grand morality tale of adventure, human nature and the value of real love. I read this as a young teenager, but now (many years later!!) I see what an awesome author Kipling truly was!!!! This is a book to be read again!

Many people say this is a boring book, or has no story line, or is just about someone working their b---- off, but I found it to be a *wonderful* book.

Harvey Cheyne is a spoiled brat who falls off a ship and is picked up by a small fishing boat. Since the boat can't possibly go back to port without getting a full load of fish Harvey will have to wait. Meanwhile, since he _is_ eating their food (the man who does not work shall not eat...), they quickly have him join in on the work aboard ship. He goes against it at first, but gradually comes to see what really matters in life. It's not how much money you have- but how you affect those around you. Harvey learns diligence and plain, hard work. Sure- it's not always a ton of fun, but no one said life was pure fun. He learns many lessons through different experiences. I found this to be *very* enjoyable. I also liked reading about the different descriptions of how fishing was done back then.

All in all, this made for a very fascinating read, and I recommend it to anyone!

This is perhaps Dickens' least successful novel from a modern standpoint. It simply doesn't hold together, as the author changes his mind about the book's direction a few times during its serial publication; changes the nature of certain characters along the way; and reveals the narrator's identity at the end (always a mistake) when in fact it is most unlikely that this particular character could have known half of what went on in the book. Modern readers will find it quite sentimental, but then it made Dickens hugely popular in his day, and is not without memorable characters as always, among them the quasi-demonic Daniel Quilp. Quilp seems to do evil for no particular reason other than that he himself is evil, therefore the book offers little pointed social critique. Dickens is nothing if not entertaining, however, and he is always worth a look.

The Old Curiosity Shop certainly displays the hallmarks of the unstructured, free-flowing make-it-up-as-you-go-along type of story characteristic of Dickens's early novels. Indeed, it is rather generous to call it a story, and it's difficult now to understand the sensation it caused when it was first published. However, if a page-turning plot was all there was to it, very few of Dickens's novels would be readable at all. As ever with Dickens, the pleasure in reading this book comes from the comedy, diversity and richness of the characters, as well as the sheer mastery of the English language which came so naturally to him.

The central characters are old Trent, his granddaughter Nell, the moneylender Daniel Quilp, young Kit and the wonderful Richard Swiveller. Of these, the spotlessly pure Nell and the irredeemably evil Quilp are the moral opposites around which the book revolves, old Trent is rather a pathetic figure, while Kit's sturdy progress from poverty to respectability makes for happier reading. However, it is the moral journey of Swiveller, which perhaps reflects the geographic journey undertaken by Nell and her grandfather, which is the real joy of this book. He enters the book in the guise of a rogue, involved in dubious intrigues with Nell's no-good brother and also with the repulsive Quilp. However, from the time that Quilp gets him a job as a clerk in the office of Samson Brass and his sister, the awful Miss Brass, Swiveller's basic decency and natural good humour begin to reveal themselves, and his soliloquies and dialogue provide many hilarious moments from that point on. The Dick Swiveller who subsequently meets up with the hapless young girl kept prisoner by Miss Brass is funny, considerate, charming and kind, and a long way from the doubtful type of character that he at first appears to be.

The book proceeds along two different narrative lines; one which charts the progress of Nell and her grandfather on their long journey, and the other revolving around Swiveller, Quilp and Kit, and to a lesser extent the families of these latter two, as well as "the single gentleman" and the little girl memorably christened "The Marchioness" by Swiveller. One of the big faults I found with this dual structure is that the characters of one plot line have no contact with those in the other plot line for most of the novel, and it is left to the Quilp, Swiveller and Kit to act out most of the drama. Nell and her grandfather spend most of their time journeying through various scenes of early nineteenth century life in England. Nonetheless these all make for enjoyable reading. One particular scene where Nell and her grandfather sleep beside a furnace in the company of a wretched man who watches the flames is particularly memorable.

All in all, it's not exactly a page-turner, and the ending is not a happy one. I would not recommend this book as an introduction to Dickens, and is best read by people, like myself, who have already decided that anything by Dickens is worth reading. Also it focuses less on London than many Dickens novels, and gives an interesting view of rural, village and town life outside London in those times.

This edition of the Old Curiosity Shop is outstanding. It contains all the original illustrations drawn for the book, very helpful footnotes, a chronology of Dickens's life, etc. The book takes the reader on a wild journey through the English countryside with Little Nell, an angelic girl, and her troublesome grandfather, and features a host of amusing characters as only Dickens can draw them. While it was being written in serial form, it was so popular that sailors returning to port in England were known to shout to people on shore to ask what was going on with Little Nell. Today, however, you can miss some of Dickens's nuance and humor if you don't have good footnotes to turn to. The notes in this book explain obscure terms, references to contemporary popular culture, places where the action occurs, etc. If you are going to read this book, this is the edition to buy.

The Song of the Lark is a beautifully crafted novel with quite stunning visual and emotional imagery. Cather tells the poignant story of Thea Kronborg, a musically gifted girl. Thea struggles with her quaint, unartistic upbringing and tries to become her own woman. This novel is not one of Cather's easier books to read. If you have not read her before, or have read a little of her, I would suggest reading O Pioneers! or My Antonia. Both are wonderful,lyric novels. The Song of the Lark is one to read after these.

Rarely, if ever, do books captivate me on such a level as this one, and even more rarely do I find such a strong connection between a fictional character and myself. That is what I discovered in the pages of Song of the Lark.

In preparing to post this review, I saw the title of another, which I believe read Hideously Dull and Boring, or something to that effect. This story, my first Willa Cather, was nothing of the sort.

Within the pages of this book a reader finds passion, love, art, beauty, despair, tragedy, disgust, longing, and triumph. Not bad for 9.95 in this day and age.

Thea Kronborg, the heroine of the story, is from very earliest meeting somewhat different from the rest of her family, and the other citizens of Moonstone, Colorado. She is one of several children, but is seen as 'something different, something special' by Howard Archie, the town doctor. He becomes her confidant, her friend, and patron as Thea rises from midwestern girl to Metropolitan Opera headliner.

Through her training and triumph, Thea discovers what is sorely lacking in others in her profession....passion, committment, and integrity. She bemoans the success of other singers, as merely 'crowd pleasing' rather that technically superior, or even correct. She rails at the off-pitch, lifeless tones of some of the more popular of her contemporaries, thinking them hideous and beastly, and severely lacking in talent.

Thea's life starts in a small Colorado town, where she experiences her first 'love', and her first tragedy when she loses that love. But as she grows, as a singer, and as a woman, Thea realizes, through a series of highs and lows, that her one true love is the pursuit of her passion, her singing. She sacrifices all for that passion, and never seems to regret it as she reaches her reward.

Although I admired many traits in this character, the one that stands out most to me is her disdain at others for accepting mediocrity in themselves. Thea despairs when others sell out for simple recognition, and accept it in lieu of striving for artistic integrity. As a performer, this quality in her touched me personally, from having shared stages with many performers stealing scences, upstaging, oversinging, all for personal gain, whether it befit their charater or not. Integrity is a quality sorely lacking in so many these days, that to find another being, fictional or real, so disgusted with the lack of it, was truly a treat.

Willa Cather draws from her own childhood to illustrate life in a small midwestern town accurately, and makes liberal mention of many well-known operas in Thea's rise to fame. This is a perfect gem of a novel, with a very believable story of a woman's passion realized in her art. There are no lucky breaks, no right place at the right time, Thea works for everything she gains, one of the greatest rewards of all.

Very few books fulfill their capacity to both present a wonderful story and completely portray the character of a certain type of person. The Song of the Lark accomplishes both of these tasks. As a classically trained singer, I can attest that the emotions Thea's music wrought from her are precise and beautifully translated into words for others to feel. Cather's insight into Thea's mind transforms The Song of the Lark into a story so intimate that few books can equal it. In addition, Thea acts so realistically! She is young and driven by her passion for music and life. The story itself, besides its merit as a great plot, presents an accurate picture of a singer's training. These three elements of the book - its emotion, its plotline, and its realism - combine to create a powerful novel.

Mark Twain was a true American original and one of the true titanic figures of American literature. He was also, as anyone who bothers to dig beneath the "The-guy-who-wrote-Tom-Sawyer-and-Huck-Finn" surface knows, a man who held distinct and perhaps slightly provocative political opinions. One of the things Mark most detested was monarchy - once calling it "the grotesquest swindle ever invented by man." In his later highly controversial novel, A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court, he took on the concept in a viscious and fearless adult satire. In this, his earlier novel, The Prince and The Pauper, Twain did the same thing while aiming principally at younger readers. The story, while featuring a lot of dialect in Middle English, is written in fairly simple and straight-forward prose, which, thus, opens the book up to readers both young and old. The novel's oft-forgotten original subtitle, A Tale For Young People of All Ages, perfectly sums up the books' merits: while this novel may have been written, primarily, with a young target audience in mind, it can also be enjoyed and appreciated by adults. Though it is novel length, the style in which it is written reflects that of classic fairy tales, and will probably be appealing to any child who likes to read. Adults, on the other hand, will note and appreciate the books' deeper underlying meanings, as well as Twain's ever-present wit. This book is very well-written; Twain, a master writer, was, alas, sometimes prone to clumsy prose in his novels - but not here. The Prince and the Pauper is practically a tour-de-force of character development and suspense in plotting. Reccommended to younger readers looking to broaden their horizons, as well as Twain fans of any age.

As a final thing worth mentioning, many reviewers here have commented that, owing to its use of dialect (something which Mark Twain uses in every single one of his writings, which is part of the reason why he was such a great writer - not to mention why he is the true father of real American literature), it is hard to understand. If these assertions have bothered you, however, rest assured: they are mightly over-exaggerated. The dialogue, though prevalent, is minor, and the meanings of the words are usually obvious - even to children; after all, one must remember who Twain wrote this book for. Most children who would read this book would probably already be familar with these elementary colloquial phrases from the many King Arthur stories derived from Malory. And, even if not, Twain foresaw this - and was helpful enough to include a useful appendix.

Mark Twain's, The Prince and the Pauper is a classic look back into sixteenth-century English society. Tom Canty is a young boy who is born into poverty and is forced to beg in the streets of London by his father. Edward Tudor is the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne. Both of these boys were born on the same day but grew up in opposite ways of life. One day Tom is dreaming about being a prince and starts walking towards the royal palace. When he reaches the palace the guards try to stop him but Prince Edward sees Tom's condition and invites him to his quarters to hear what Tom has to say. While they sit there they begin to realize what strong resemblance there is between them and decide to switch clothes to fulfill Tom's dream of looking Princely. All of a sudden Edward storms out of the room to denounce the guards who did harm to Tom, only to be mistaken as the poor pauper and locked out of the royal palace. From here on out the two boys experience what life is like in the other's shoes. Mark Twain does an outstanding job of developing each character and showing how each must learn new ideas to deal with their latest way of life. Unfortunately I did find myself losing my concentration while reading this book. This easily could have been due to the fact that the way Twain wrote The Prince and the Pauper was actually on a very easy reading level, which would lead me to recommend this book to readers of middle school age who enjoy adventurous tales like The Boxcar Children or The Hardy Boys.

The Prince and the Pauper written by Mark Twain is an adventurous, exciting book. The book takes place in London around the 1500's. Two boys were born on the same day, Tom Canty and Edward Tudor. Tom Canty was born unto a poor life, and as a boy growing up, "Tom's reading and dreaming about princely life wrought such a strong effect upon him that he began to act the prince." And just his luck, did he happen to some across the Prince of Wales, after suffering the hard blow of the soldier knocking him into the crowd. The Prince of Wales is Edward Tudor, the other boy born on the same day but born into a rich and wealthy family. As a result from the encounter, the two boys decide to switch places, as the Prince of Wales says to Tom Canty, "Doff thy rags and don these splendors."
The book describes the boys' adventures throughout the experience of living each other's lives. As the Prince of Wales lives as the pauper, he is introduced to and learns about many different people such as the Canty family, Miles Hendon, a troop of Vagabonds, Hugo, the peasants, the hermit, and others. And as Tom Canty acts as the Prince of Wales, he experiences living the higher life of royalty, being treated with respect and given so many opportunities and choices.
Through having the plot be that the characters switch places, the book is more exciting because the reader could act in the character's place and experience the lifestyles and adventures involved with each person's life. Other than being able to understand better each person's lifestyle with the type of writing, using dialogue in Old English adds a stronger effect to bringing everything back in time to understand the setting. Although at times, the Old English could get confusing.
Overall, I thought that this book was interesting because it explains the lifestyles of different people in London around the 1500's in a way that is fun and easy to understand. Although at times, I did feel as if it carried on too much about things that were insignificant. Other than that, the book was good and I would recommend that it be read, if you are interested in adventure.
Other adventure books written by Mark Twain, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, were also interesting, but I enjoyed reading The Prince and the Pauper more because it contained more excitement for me.

I agree with Jason Perry. Lots of pictures, not much content though. I'm sure there are much better books out there that can handle the same information, without the overinduldgence in slick looking, but not very useful graphics. Ideal for absolute beginners, but not worth the money if you're after a serious book on mixing.

The visuals are superb in conveying complex stereo field information. This book is packed with clearly explained specifications for all styles of music and technical tips on all the vital, yet confusing, studio equipment. A must have book!

For the pros and home-musicians alike, this book gives a surprisingly clear view of virtually all aspects of recording and mixing in the studio. For me, having read the book, I suddenly understood why my mixes were only so-so and certainly not good enough for record companies (especially the section on compression is great!). This book provides highly valuable insight, which means that you still have to practice a lot to really improve your skills, but that practicing becomes much more pleasurable having read this book.

I hated reading Dickens in high school, and I was never able to get past the first chapter of any of his books, including this one. Now that I'm in my mid-30's, I want to re-visit a lot of the works that I had no patience for as a teenager, so I read Hard Times. Although there are many flaws to this book, I felt proud to have finally cleared the Dickens hurdle. Dickens is excellent at creating sympathetic (and evil) characters, even though they may be slightly cliche or wooden. The fact is, Dickens is able to hook you in with his plots and create a profound concern on behalf of the reader that the good guy (or girl) wins and the bad guy suffers. A lot of the twists in this book were a little "too convenient" and implausible to make it a crowining work of literature, but nevertheless it has motivated me to move on to Dickens' larger, more daunting works. If you are having any trepidation about tackling Dickens, Hard Times is a good place to start.

Here is a stunning indictment of soot-covered early Victorian England. Its relevance today though should not be underestimated. Parallels abound both here at home and the world over. Hard Times is brilliant and multifaceted. Dickens is both dreadfully serious and stingingly witty. And yes, a thorough Marxist reading is certainly possible. Dickens cared deeply about the world in which he lived and his humanity shines through in every line. This book, and all that Dickens wrote, is worthwhile if only for the beauty of the prose. Those forced to read it in school are unlikely to see its value as anyone forced to do anything against the will is going to be resentful and rejecting. Be deeply suspicious though of the reader from Madison Wisconsin, Hitler, or anyone who advises the literal trashing of books.

Dickens creates a novel that virtually revolutionizes literature of the 1800's. At a time where most writers wrote in a stuffy prose full of unrealities and a jaded outlook, Dickens dares to tell with honesty what he sees through his window.

Hard Times has yet a misleading title. It gives one ideas of harshness, depression, poverty, and social decline--although the actual reality of then-London, still not something you would choose to read. However, Hard Times has as much depression and poverty as any of Dickens' other works. It is just in this case that Dickens chooses to remind the world that in the deepest despair there is beauty yet to be seen.

Dickens was a strange author. In his supposedly inspiring books, you get an overdose of sadness, and in his depressing books, you find beauty. It is this case with Hard Times.

It is a poor, honest man's search for justice in a world where only the rich have merit. It is a girl's search for true love while battling the arranged marriage for money. And lastly, a woman's search for recognition against her favored, yet dishonest brother. It is these searches that at last come together and become fufilled. And, while at the same time telling a captivating story, it comments on the then--and still now--presence of greed and total dishonesty one has to go through for money.

The title of this review sums up Hard Times. Its beauty comes from the pure searches for truth, the sorrow comes from the evil the characters most overcome to get there, and the honesty is both the truth with which Dickens portrays life and the the overwhelming truth that these protaganists create.

Holly Burke, PhD.

Clinical Psychologist, Abnormal Psych. Professor

Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins Inst.

Butler's stodgily paced and, at times, slow moving novel is perhaps less compelling now that it once was; yet still presents an interesting picture of the paradoxes and hypocrises of Victorian society. Butler does not, as once reviewer claims, employ the "straw man" to defame Christianity. What the author does (and sadly that reviewer seems to have missed it) is demonstrate Christianity's place in justifying elite conceptions of their own purity and morality. Ernest Pontifex's quasi-puritan parents believe themselves to be the very picture of piety - when in actuality they are emotionally cruel and questionably Christian-like towards their own kin. Really, these characters, who are so imbued by their own sense of righteousness to ably examine their own lives, are a metaphor for all of Victorian society. Perhaps this metaphoric critique, no doubt very biting in its time, has lost its edge in a time of less subtle criticism. Still, worth the time to read if you're interested in the changes in both English society (and self-image) and modern literature at the turn of the century. Usually classified as a "modern" novel, it more aptly lies somewhere in between.

It's a hoot to read the clipped, sullen dismissals of this book by readers from Topeka to Boston. They obviously hate Butler's novel, and for good reason: the mealymouthed, Christian, moneygrubbing Victorian family on which he spits with such accuracy moved west in the course of the twentieth century. It is now only rarely to be found in England; its true home is...Topeka...and Boston...and a thousand other American whited sepulchres. One reviewer whines that this is the "irrelevant" story of "an average middle-class man from an average middle-class family." What an interesting form of "irrelevance"!

In fact, the novel is brilliant and has endured surprisingly well. To see its relevance, all you need do is move its setting 3.000 miles to the West.

I read this book after reading all the reviews on Amazon not knowing what to expect: Incredibly boring or amazing insightful? I have read many books written in that same time period. I believe this to be the most mature work to come out of England in the late 19th Century(although it was published later). I enjoy Dickens, Hardy, and Eliot very much, but Butler makes their works look like grocery store fiction. I can see how many people might be bored if they were expecting a great story. While the story is excellent, it is more a book about ideas. Butler uses his hero to voice his commentary on Victorian ideals. Most of it is still very relevant today, though. I think it will be most relevant for people that have been exposed to the religious right wing who still hold many Victorian values. I enjoyed the characters and the story was compelling. There are many beautiful passages. It was very funny at times and somewhat sarcastic. The narrator reminded me of Hemmingway born 50 years earlier in England. What impressed me the most was Butler's modern style of writing. Much less wordy than Dickens. Dickens would have taken 800 pages to express the same thoughts. I also felt a real kindred to the main character Ernest. This is ultimately a coming of age book which most people will be able to relate to in one way or another (unless you haven't grown up yet). I would recommend it to all serious readers.

I recently read the Henry James novel, Daisy Miller, as an assigned reading for my high school English class. Although, I tend not to like the classics that much, I would recommend this book, especially to high school students. This book appears to build on the author's interest with psychology. While the theme is pretty obvious, the clash between reality and appearance, it holds the readers attention. In fact, this could be compared to many movie plots or the Real World TV show on MTV. The "ugly" American that travels to Europe. In the process, offending many because of their lack of knowledge of the culture. The Europeans never look beyond the surface. The theme seems like an everyday occurrence.

The story is the difference between appearance and reality. The Europeans, represented by his aunt, only see the superficial and are overly judgmental. They do not see the innocence in Daisy. They regard her as vulgar. Frederick is torn between his friends and relatives who are critical of the apparent loose morals of Daisy. She socializes with men unescorted and stays out very late. She disregards the social mores of the time and the culture she is visiting. Daisy doesn't care about appearances while Frederick cares a great deal about the matter. He has to leave for his home in Geneva, and promises to see Daisy in Rome that winter. In late January, Frederick arrives in Rome to be told by his aunt that Daisy has not changed and is associating with Italian men! Her comments are unflattering towards Daisy. The tone is one of disapproval and suggests immoral behavior.

Isn't this one our main faults of judging people on the appearance? An online reviewer of Daisy Miller commented "...The unreliable narrator is here in his full glory. I say "his" because in Daisy Miller, the masculinist bias of the narrator is the only reason for the story to exist. There is no plot. The standard critical drivel about "American" vs "European" girls is absurd...." Isn't it obvious that this was written in the late 1800's? That was the way of life of that time. However, it still is a tendency of this era only more understated.

I read this book as part of an English course on late-19th and 20th century American literature. It's the first time I've read a novel by Henry James, having so far only seen the movie adaptations of 'Portrait of a Lady' and 'Washington Square'. Having been wary of reading James (because of his reputation for dense, convoluted prose) I was surprised at this novel's relatively brisk plot and overall readability. The story itself, ostensibly a simple one about one man's inability to understand a seemingly complicated woman, also has interesting things to say about gender, class and the relationship between the United States (personified by the heroine) and the rest of the Western world. I was actually somewhat amazed that the image of America created through the characterization of Daisy Miller still rings true 125 years after this book's publication.

I hadn't read James for about eight years or so when I came across a copy of Daisy Miller in a pile of discarded books at a local university. It sat on my shelf for a while longer, as I knew full well that James writes in thick sentences, making up for the lack of volume by quite a bit.

What I found was what I have come to expect from James, even in his early works. This book does a great deal in terms of pulling together many levels of interpretaion: Old World versus New World, common versus exclusive, and also the chaser and the chased.

This last viewpoint in particular is what stuck with me. We have a young girl, and a young man. They meet once for a few days, and the young man becomes utterly fixated on her, if for any other reason that she is playing, in his view, hard to get. When she turns her attention elsewhere, the ante is doubled and tripled when, for a variety of reasons most likely centered around our young hero Winterbourne, the American society in Rome starts to give our heroin the "cold shoulder". Given that James writes most often to examine the person most in focus in the novel, I tend to atribute most of the troubles of this young girl to both herself and Winterbourne, not just the society of the time. This is far from a safe academic interpretation, however.

The notes included in the book are helpful for getting into the mindset of the typical reader of James' day, but are not distracting. Overall, this would probably be suitible for an ambitios middle school student, and just right for most high school students.

Reading "The Ambassadors," I was awed by the subtletly of emotion and social gesture James was able to describe. Clearly here was a crafted that had been years in the honing, and I appreciate the book's liberation from the plot-heavy mechanics of earlier books like "The Portrait of a Lady" and "The American." Everything is only subtly insinuated; whole lives can hinge upon half-meant gestures or long-buried social prejudices. In this way, the book has some of the wistful tone of "The Age of Innocence," but more depth if less elegant prose.

The prose is the thing -- James was dictating by this time (how on Earth does one dictate a novel?), and it shows. His chewy ruminations and meandering, endlessly parenthetical sentences are hard to digest. I think James went too far in his late style, and "The Ambassadors" might have benefited from a sterner editor. Still, this is an important book, absolutely worth the read.

THE AMBASSADORS demands more effort and concentration from the reader than probably any other novel written by an American. But the payoff is worth the effort, however we may begrudge James' frustratingly and intentionally thick prose. James does indeed describe intense human situations in great depth and detail: duty, honor, nostalgia; the contrast between the starchy-collared stiffness of Brahmin Boston (read: America) contrasted with the joie de vivre of Paris (read: Europe); how difficult certain of life's choices can be. These are just a few themes that make this book worthwhile. James' America is young and trying to assert itself (and so takes itself too seriously); his Europe is old and satisfied (and perhaps doesn't take itself seriously enough).

Lambert Strether, a fiftysomething turn-of-the-20th-century bourgeois Bostonian gentleman on an aristocratic lady's errand--she will not marry him until he convinces her son Chad to return to Massachusetts. We see his struggle with his uncomfortable position when he realizes Chad is no longer a spoiled young prep-schooler, but a young gentleman of increasing refinement and self-awareness. And if Strether is anything, by the way, he is one of the most supremely self-aware characters in literary history. Once that Paris air starts to play its magic with Strether himself, we are off to the races. Keeping in mind, of course, that with James' prose we are racing with tortoises. James invites us to ponder how many chances a person truly gets in this life to reinvent his or her self? And if we get the chance, do we always take it? How much should we weigh the consequences before we decide? How much are we willing to accept them after we have chosen?

For similar themes with clearer, faster-paced, and wittier prose, try Edith Wharton's marvelous homage to James, THE AGE OF INNOCENCE.

Was there any American more European than Henry James? "The Ambassadors" begins in England and takes place mostly in Paris, and even though most of its characters are American, it is only referentially concerned with its author's native country. At the same time, the novel is not about Americans frivolously sowing their wild oats in exotic ancestral lands, but rather how they use their new settings to break away from restrictive American traditions and conventions and redefine their values and standards of living.

The main character is a late-middle-aged widower named Lambert Strether who edits a local periodical in the town of Woollett, Massachussetts, and is a sort of factotum for a wealthy industrialist's widow named Mrs. Newsome, a woman he may possibly marry. Strether's latest assignment from Mrs. Newsome is to go to Paris to convince her son, Chad, to give up what she assumes is a hedonistic lifestyle and return to Woollett to marry a proper, respectable young lady, his brother-in-law's sister to be specific. There is a greater ulterior motive, too -- the prosperity of the family business relies on Chad's presence.

In Paris, Strether finds that Chad has surrounded himself with a more stimulating group of friends, including a mousy aspiring painter named John Little Bilham, and that he is in love with an older, married woman named Madame de Vionnet. Providing companionship and counsel to Strether in Paris are his old friend, a retired businessman named Waymarsh, and a woman he met in England, named Maria Gostrey, who happens to be an old schoolmate of the Madame's. When it appears that Strether is failing in his mission to influence Chad, Mrs. Newsome dispatches her daughter and son-in-law, Jim and Sarah (Newsome) Pocock, and Jim's marriageable sister Mamie, to Paris to apply pressure. Ultimately, Strether, realizing that he's blown his chances with Mrs. Newsome and that Chad has the right idea anyway, finds himself enjoying the carefree life in Paris, which has liberated him from his lonely, stifling existence in Woollett.

Not having cared much for James's previous work "The Wings of the Dove," I felt something click with "The Ambassadors." Maybe it's because I found the story a little more absorbing and could empathize with Strether; maybe it's because my reading skills are maturing and I'm learning to appreciate James's dense, oblique prose style. I realize now that, for all the inherent difficulty in his writing, literature took a giant step forward with Henry James; if the Novel is, as he claimed, "the most independent, most elastic, most prodigious of literary forms," it takes a writer like James to show us how.