The American

Henry James’s perennial theme the contrast between American modernity and European tradition is nowhere explored more eloquently than in The American.

Christopher Newman is a rich American visiting Paris, where he meets Claire de Cintré, a widow of noble birth. He is treated at first with hostility by all of her family except her younger brother Valentin, and later tolerated only because of his wealth. By cunning and guile, Claire and her family evade and betray Newman. However, the discovery of a family secret offers him the possibility of a sublime revenge.

In choosing whether or not to take this option, Newman becomes James’s innocent American abroad, and Claire and her family represent the corruption and repression of the Old World and old values. A masterly story of romance and a wry comedy of manners, The American is one of James’s earliest works to make this important cultural comparison.