کتاب The Bostonians Original From Bostons social underworld emerges Verena Tarrant a girl with extraordinary oratorical gifts which she deploys in tawdry meetinghouses on behalf of the sisterhood of women She acquires two admirers of a very different stamp Olive Chancellor devotee of radical causes and marked out for tragedy and Basil Ransom veteran of the Civil War with rigid views concerning society and womens place therein Is the lovely lighthearted Verena made for public movements or private passions A struggle to possess her body and soul develops between Olive and Basil  The exploitation of Verenas unregenerate innocence reflects a society whose moral and cultural values are failing to survive the new dawn of liberalism and democracy The Bostonians 1886 was not welcomed by Jamess fellow countrymen who failed to appreciate its delicacy and wit but a century later this book is widely regarded as Jamess finest American fiction and perhaps his comic masterpiece  About the Series For over 100 years Oxford Worlds Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe Each affordable volume reflects Oxfords commitment to scholarship providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features including expert introductions by leading authorities voluminous notes to clarify the text uptodate bibliographies for further study and much more