Roderick Hudson: The 1875 Literary Classic (Annotated) - Softcover

Inhaltsangabe

Unique Elements

• Historical Context
• Detailed 19th Century Analysis

About Roderick Hudson

Roderick Hudson by American-British author Henry James is a book of literary fiction originally appearing as a serial between January and December of 1875 before its release in book form.

‘Why, then,” asked Rowland, “doesn’t he deliberately take up the chisel?”
“For several reasons. In the first place, I don’t think he more than half suspects his talent. The flame is smouldering, but it is never fanned by the breath of criticism. He sees nothing, hears nothing, to help him to self-knowledge. He's hopelessly discontented, but he doesn’t know where to look for help. Then his mother, as she one day confessed to me, has a holy horror of a profession which consists exclusively, as she supposes, in making figures of people without their clothes on.’

When the wealthy Bostonian art collector, Rowland Mallet, first encounters the sculpture of a Grecian figure, he believes it to be a remarkable work of genius. Wanting to provide the creator of the piece, a struggling artist by the name of Roderick Hudson, with the opportunity to develop his full potential, he offers Hudson financial assistance and takes him to Rome, where he quickly builds a reputation for his original talent.

However, when he begins to lose his inspiration and sets out on a path of self-destruction, Rowland fears he has lost control of his protégé and may be unable to stop Roderick's apparent determination to destroy himself. One of James's early works, Roderick Hudson tells the compelling and tragic story of a man who, like the Icarus of mythology, gave way to hubris and flew too close to the sun.

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