Washington Square

Catherine Sloper is a shy, plain, and not very clever young lady. She lives with her widowed father, a respected doctor, in Washington Square, a fairly new neighborhood in Greenwich Village. Catherine has a sizable income left by her mother, and stands to inherit a fortune from her father. Men don't pay much attention to her-until she meets Mr. Townsend.The two quickly become interested in each other, and Catherine sees in Townsend all the romantic hero she has always wished for. Her father, however, is skeptical: he suspects Townsend is more interested in Catherine's money than in Catherine herself.Published in 1880, Washington Square is Henry James's most accessible novel and one of the finest psychological studies in all of American fiction. Perfect for readers who appreciate character-driven drama and understated irony, this compact masterpiece delivers a devastating portrait of family, love, and betrayal.