Travelling to a large country-house party at Newmarch, the unnamed narrator notices that Gilbert Long has grown unexpectedly brilliant and Mrs. Brissenden strangely young. He builds a theory that in every intimate pair one partner feeds on the other’s vitality, and spends the weekend watching the guests to prove it, with results that may say more about him than about them.
James’s most puzzling novel, a sly study of observation and obsession for readers who enjoy his late style. Download the free EPUB.