The Wings of the Dove, Volume 1 of 2

James, Henry, 1843-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.5
Word count
448K words
Chapters
45

Tags

English Originals Foreign Literature Social ClassWomen's FateLove EntanglementsLove TriangleHuman NaturePsychological InsightPsychological Realism

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Wings of the Dove, Volume 1 of 2 by Henry JamesAuthor: James, Henry, 1843-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 19, 2009

Editor's review

The first half of Henry James's late masterpiece, this public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg makes the classic psychological novel freely available. This volume concentrates on developing relationships and emotional undercurrents; the narration is dense and meticulous, the point of view moving slowly among the characters' inner lives, embodying the psychological realism that marks James's late style. Its value lies not in rapid plot movement but in the layered dissection of motive, hesitation, and moral dilemma—demanding patience from the reader, yet richly rewarding. For students of English and American literature and readers interested in narrative technique, this volume is an essential text for understanding James's late art; for general readers, it offers an exercise in slow reading and a window into the social and financial entanglements of the late-nineteenth-century transatlantic world. Note that this is only the first half of the novel; readers should be prepared to continue with Volume 2 to avoid confusion at the unfinished plot.

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Reading tips

  1. Familiarize yourself with the two-volume structure and continue promptly with Volume 2 after finishing this one to avoid a break in the plot.
  2. After each chapter, summarize the relationships and psychological shifts in a few sentences to help navigate the dense narration.
  3. For long sentences, identify the main clause first, then work in the modifiers; slow down and read key dialogue closely.
  4. Annotate with attention to James's late narrative perspective, noting where the point of view shifts.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45

FAQ

Can I understand the complete story by reading only this volume? No. This is the first of the novel's two volumes; the relationships and central conflicts are still unfolding, and the story does not conclude. Keep Volume 2 at hand and read them consecutively for the full plot and character resolutions.
How difficult is Henry James's language? James's late style features long sentences with many nested clauses and dense psychological description, making it fairly demanding. Even readers with solid English may find it challenging; slow down, read in sections, and don't aim to finish in one sitting.
Is this book suitable as English-learning material? Not very suitable for beginners. Its long sentence structures and abstract psychological description require strong language skills; it is better suited to readers with some experience of English literary originals who wish to deepen their literary appreciation.
What are the features of the Gutenberg edition? The Gutenberg edition is a free public-domain electronic text in English, convenient for reading and searching on electronic devices. It includes no modern annotations or introduction; readers seeking background information should consult relevant literary scholarship separately.

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About the author

James, Henry, 1843-1916 Author

Henry James (1843–1916) was a novelist born in the United States who later became a British citizen, known for his psychological realism. He advances his narratives through his characters' consciousness and moral dilemmas, in a delicate, restrained style with carefully crafted sentences, often using limited points of view to leave meaningful gaps. His works frequently explore themes such as the collision between European and American cultures, marriage and freedom, and innocence versus worldly sophistication. The collection holds 81 of his works, including the two-volume The Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, The Beast in the Jungle, and the novella The Turn of the Screw. These works range from novels to novellas and show his fine, detailed portrayal of inner life across different lengths. Public information is limited, so biographical details are omitted, but these works alone reveal his important place in the tradition of psychological narrative in English literature.