14 h 55 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does a gifted young sculptor owe the man who gives him his chance?
In a small Massachusetts town, Rowland Mallet finds a purpose for his wealth: Roderick Hudson, a law student who models clay in his spare hours. He offers to pay for the young man's training in Rome. For Roderick, it means freedom to work. For Rowland, it means a life no longer spent watching from the sidelines.
Rome's ruins, churches and statues fill Roderick with excitement, and his work begins to earn respect. Then Christina Light draws his attention away from sculpture. Through Rowland's watchful eyes, Henry James explores the strain between talent and duty, generosity and control. At home, Roderick's mother and his promised bride, Mary Garland, have their own claims on his heart.
What you’ll discover
- A gift with a cost Follow a restless sculptor whose longing for freedom presses against the demands of his work.
- Kindness under strain Watch Rowland's generous offer raise difficult questions about what help entitles anyone to expect.
- Rome through eager eyes Enter crowded streets where ruins, churches and statues awaken a young artist's ambition.
- Beauty that unsettles Meet Christina Light, whose restless spirit and striking beauty disturb Roderick's growing sense of purpose.
- A watchful friend's view See Roderick through Rowland's admiration, worry and envy, where affection never makes judgment simple.
Who will love it
For readers who love novels about character, art and the cost of ambition, and anyone curious to meet Henry James at the start of his career.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A rich man looks for a purpose
- Roderick Hudson is brilliant, spoiled and restless
- A patron makes an offer that changes lives
- Rome opens the young man's eyes
- Talent arrives in a sudden rush
- Christina Light changes everything
- Passion pulls against the work
- The women from home arrive in Rome
- What the novel says about genius and cost
- How James tells the story
Who’s who
- Rowland MalletA rich, kind and watchful Bostonian who has no calling and takes up the cause of a young sculptor.
- Roderick HudsonA brilliant, impulsive young sculptor who longs to be free of small duties and to make great work.
- Mary GarlandRoderick's serious and steady cousin and promised bride, who believes in his gift and sees his faults.
- Mrs. HudsonRoderick's gentle, devoted mother, who has given her life to her son and fears to lose him.
- Christina LightA strikingly beautiful and restless young woman, raised to be admired and married well, who stirs Roderick deeply.
- CeciliaRowland's cousin, a lively young widow in Northampton who leads him to Roderick and urges him to find a purpose.
- Sam SingletonA modest and hardworking painter in Rome who has little gift but great patience and asks for nothing.
- GlorianiA polished and worldly sculptor in Rome who judges Roderick's early work with a cool and experienced eye.
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- Audiobook
- 14 h 55 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Roderick Hudson
by Henry James · 1875
Rowland Mallet takes a gifted young sculptor to Rome, where generosity entangles him in the cost of ambition.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A rich man looks for a purpose
The novel opens with Rowland Mallet, a Bostonian in his thirties who has money, taste and a sense that his days add up to nothing. He is not lazy by nature. He is a man who wants to do some good and has not found the way. His health is fair, his manners are gentle, and his conscience is strict.
He pays a visit to his cousin Cecilia, a young widow who lives in the town of Northampton, Massachusetts. Cecilia knows everyone and has her own ideas about how Rowland should live. She tells him that he needs something to care for. She also hints, with some humor, that he might care for a person.
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What is Roderick Hudson about?
It follows a rich American, Rowland Mallet, who takes a gifted young sculptor, Roderick Hudson, from Massachusetts to Rome. The novel looks at talent, patronage, love and the cost of ambition as the young man's life takes a hard course.
When was Roderick Hudson written?
Henry James wrote it in the mid 1870s. It was published as a serial in 1875 and then as a book. It is his first full-length novel, and he revised it later in life.
Who is Christina Light in Roderick Hudson?
She is a beautiful young woman living in Rome with her ambitious mother. Her charm and restlessness draw Roderick in, and she is also pressed to marry well. James brought her back in a later novel.
The author
Henry James
1843–1916 · American British novelist
Henry James was born in New York City in 1843. He settled in England in 1876 and became a British citizen in 1915. He wrote novels, stories, plays, and travel books. His works include Daisy Miller (1878), The Turn of the Screw (1898), and The Ambassadors (1903). He died in London in 1916.
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