The Bostonians

HENRY JAMES' FAMOUS SATIRE Basil Ransom, a conservative lawyer from Mississippi and Civil War veteran meets his cousin, Olive Chancellor, a feminist activist, in Boston. He also meets Olive's beautiful protege in the feminist movement, Verena Tarrant. It is a meeting which begins a struggle between Basil and Olive for Verena's affections and future. The Bostonians is Henry James' most overtly political work and arouses a good deal of controversy for its satirical depiction of the feminist movement. Even at the time of its initial release the book was the subject of much discussion, receiving mixed reviews. James' treatment of the subject matter remains controversial, though the themes make the book still fresh and pertinent today.