Henry James

Confidence Henry James

Confidence by Henry James First serialised in Scribners magazine in 1879 and published in full during the same year, Confidence is a light romantic comedy of marriage declined and accepted. The plot centres upon three characters, Bernie Longueville, an artist, Gordy Wright, a scientist, and Angie Vivien without occupation but a strong, gregarious female. When Gordy asks Bernie whether he should marry Angela, Bernie, having already met her, advises against it. Yet later, when Bernie again meet Angela, he realises that he loves her himself and proposes. Confidence is unusual for James in that it is light and comedic. While there are familiar themes including the pressure to marry, it is the treatment that marks it out. There is also an impression that James was keen to provide a resolution in the set of relationships and critics have suggested that the one provides, and its means, was somewhat contrived. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.