Books

London: Macmillan and Co, 1886. First edition, one of 750 sets published in October of 1886. Three octavo volumes. Advertisement leaf at the end of volumes two and three. Publisher's dark green cloth, ruled in black on boards, gilt lettering on the spine. Green coated endpapers renewed. Spine extremities slightly bumped, light rubbing to tips and joints. Uncut. A very good copy. In custom cloth clamshell. "In the middle phase of his career, James wrote two novels dealing with social reformers and revolutionaries, The Bostonians (1886) and Princess Casamassima." (Webster's Dictionary of American Authors, 207) These novels were different in that they strayed from the usual themes found in James' works and focused more on the poor and working-class characters and radical politics. BAL 10577. Edel and Laurence A29a. HBS 64325. $6,500.

The Princess Casamassima is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly in 1885-1886 and then as a book in 1886. The novel is a story about London bookbinder Hyacinth Robinson, who becomes involved in radical politics and a terrorist assassination plot. The book combines themes of political activism and social reform with James's characteristic psychological insight.