Washington Square

the long version

Washington Square is one of Henry James’s most appealing and popular novels, with the most straightforward plot and style of any of his works. Set in the genteel New York of James’s early childhood, it is a tale of cruelty laced with comedy. Dr. Austin Sloper is a wealthy and domineering father who is disappointed in the unremarkable daughter he has produced; he dismisses her as both plain and simpleminded. The gentle and dutiful Catherine Sloper has always been in awe of her father, but when sh