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The Wings of the Dove (Penguin Classics)
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The Wings of the Dove (Penguin Classics) Paperback - 2008

by James, Henry

  • Used
  • Paperback

An incomparable Henry James's novel in a new edition

Featuring a new introduction, it is abrilliant and sophisticated satire of manners and morals in the best Jamesian tradition. The Wings of the Dove is an indelible take on the tragic love triangle in which twopoor yet ardent lovers seduce a dying woman in the hope that she will leave them her fortune.

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James, Henry/ Bell, Millicent (EDT), 2008-06-24. Reprint. paperback. Used:Good.
Used:Good
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Details

  • Title The Wings of the Dove (Penguin Classics)
  • Author James, Henry
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Condition Used:Good
  • Pages 608
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher James, Henry/ Bell, Millicent (EDT)
  • Date 2008-06-24
  • Bookseller's Inventory # DADAX0141441283
  • ISBN 9780141441283 / 0141441283
  • Weight 0.91 lbs (0.41 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.8 x 5.08 x 1.23 in (19.81 x 12.90 x 3.12 cm)
  • Reading level 1190
  • Library of Congress subjects London (England), Love stories
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

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About this book

Set in turn-of-the-century London, Henry James’ The Wings of the Dove tells the story of Mildred “Milly” Theale, an orphaned American heiress, and the mixed motives of those around her, namely Kate Croy. Kate is a scheming young woman in love with Merton Densher, a man too poor to offer her a “fashionable marriage.” Thus, she conspires to push Merton towards Milly, who has an unnamed fatal illness, with the hope of eventually enhancing her lover’s financial status.

Like much of James’ earlier works, The Wings of the Dove involves the universal themes of selfishness, greed, conspiracy, love, and betrayal. It also addresses the Victorian tradition and pitches American innocence against European cunning. However, the novel, written later in the author’s life, deals with deeper psychological aspects than his earlier works. While it does include social commentary, the central conflict of the novel regards moral character as opposed to cultural background.

There have been many adaptations of The Wings of the Dove. Perhaps most notable is director Iain Softley’s 1997 film version starring Alison Elliott as Milly Theale, Helena Bonham Carter as Kate Croy, and Linus Roache as Merton Densher. The film was a box office hit that won several prizes and award nominations, including Bonham Carter’s Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

The Wings of the Dove is ranked 26th on Modern Library's list of the “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. 

Summary

An incomparable Henry James?s novel in a new edition

Featuring a new introduction, it is a brilliant and sophisticated satire of manners and morals in the best Jamesian tradition. The Wings of the Dove is an indelible take on the tragic love triangle in which two poor yet ardent lovers seduce a dying woman in the hope that she will leave them her fortune.

From the publisher

Henry James (1843-1916), born in New York City, was the son of noted religious philosopher Henry James, Sr., and brother of eminent psychologist and philosopher William James. He spent his early life in America and studied in Geneva, London and Paris during his adolescence to gain the worldly experience so prized by his father. He lived in Newport, went briefly to Harvard Law School, and in 1864 began to contribute both criticism and tales to magazines.

In 1869, and then in 1872-74, he paid visits to Europe and began his first novel, Roderick Hudson. Late in 1875 he settled in Paris, where he met Turgenev, Flaubert, and Zola, and wrote The American (1877). In December 1876 he moved to London, where two years later he achieved international fame with Daisy Miller. Other famous works include Washington Square (1880), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Princess Casamassima (1886), The Aspern Papers (1888), The Turn of the Screw (1898), and three large novels of the new century, The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903) and The Golden Bowl (1904). In 1905 he revisited the United States and wrote The American Scene (1907).

During his career he also wrote many works of criticism and travel. Although old and ailing, he threw himself into war work in 1914, and in 1915, a few months before his death, he became a British subject. In 1916 King George V conferred the Order of Merit on him. He died in London in February 1916.


Philip Horne has spent a decade looking at the thousands of James's letters in archives in the United States and Europe. A Reader in English Literature at University College, London, he is the author of Henry James and Revision and the editor of the Penguin Classics edition of James's The Tragic Muse.

First Edition Identification

New York City-based Charles Scribner’s Sons first published The Wings of the Dove in two volumes on 21 August 1902. Bound in brown leather, first editions have no additional printings listed on the copyright page. Volume one has 329 pages; volume two, 439.

Media reviews

'He is as solitary in the history of the novel as Shakespeare in the history of poetry.'
Graham Greene

About the author

Henry James (1843-1916), born in New York City, was the son of noted religious philosopher Henry James, Sr., and brother of eminent psychologist and philosopher William James. He spent his early life in America and studied in Geneva, London and Paris during his adolescence to gain the worldly experience so prized by his father. He lived in Newport, went briefly to Harvard Law School, and in 1864 began to contribute both criticism and tales to magazines.

In 1869, and then in 1872-74, he paid visits to Europe and began his first novel, Roderick Hudson. Late in 1875 he settled in Paris, where he met Turgenev, Flaubert, and Zola, and wrote The American (1877). In December 1876 he moved to London, where two years later he achieved international fame with Daisy Miller. Other famous works include Washington Square (1880), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Princess Casamassima(1886), The Aspern Papers (1888), The Turn of the Screw (1898), and three large novels of the new century, The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903) and The Golden Bowl (1904). In 1905 he revisited the United States and wrote The American Scene (1907).

During his career he also wrote many works of criticism and travel. Although old and ailing, he threw himself into war work in 1914, and in 1915, a few months before his death, he became a British subject. In 1916 King George V conferred the Order of Merit on him. He died in London in February 1916.

Philip Horne has spent a decade looking at the thousands of James's letters in archives in the United States and Europe. A Reader in English Literature at University College, London, he is the author of Henry James and Revision and the editor of the Penguin Classics edition of James's The Tragic Muse.

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