6 h 43 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 43 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when two charming Europeans bring a taste for pleasure into a household ruled by conscience?
In Henry James's The Europeans, Eugenia, Baroness Münster, and her brother Felix Young arrive from Europe to meet their New England cousins. Eugenia hopes to find security and a rich husband. Felix, a good-humored painter, finds delight almost everywhere. Their bright manners unsettle the serious Wentworth household.
Mr. Wentworth watches indulgence with suspicion, while his daughter Gertrude longs for a wider life. Nearby, wealthy Robert Acton feels drawn to Eugenia but keeps questioning her. As affection grows and habits come under strain, James turns the meeting of two ways of living into a gentle, sharp-eyed comedy.
What you’ll discover
- Charm against conscience Watch European ease meet New England duty, with each side making the other look strange.
- A guest with ambitions Follow Eugenia as her search for security meets Robert Acton's attraction and persistent doubts.
- The pleasure of Felix Meet a painter whose warmth and laughter turn a family visit into an adventure.
- A longing for more Share Gertrude's sense that her quiet world has limits, and feel her wish for something wider.
- Wit without cruelty Enjoy a narrator who smiles at human weakness while noticing what plain words can hide.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love witty conversation, sharp portraits of families, and stories driven by a clash between two ways of living. Fans of Jane Austen will feel at home.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two travelers land in a cold, wet Boston
- Felix walks out and finds Gertrude alone
- The Baroness wins over her uncle's household
- A small white house becomes a foreign outpost
- Felix paints portraits and Gertrude listens
- Robert Acton grows curious about the Baroness
- Clifford, a bouquet, and a visitor at midnight
- Gertrude wants pleasure, and duty keeps calling her back
- Eugenia seeks a fortune and cannot quite tell the truth
- A plain family and a comedy of manners
Who’s who
- Eugenia, Baroness MünsterA charming, clever woman of thirty-three who has crossed the ocean to find a fortune and a new footing in the world.
- Felix YoungEugenia's cheerful younger brother, an easygoing artist who finds delight everywhere and falls for his cousin Gertrude.
- Gertrude WentworthA restless, imaginative young woman who longs for pleasure and a wider world than her serious family allows.
- Charlotte WentworthGertrude's gentle, dutiful older sister, who keeps her feelings tucked away and worries about doing right.
- Mr. WentworthThe pale, conscientious head of the family, who takes every event as a question of duty and worries about mistakes.
- Robert ActonA thoughtful, humorous cousin who made a fortune in China and grows fascinated by the Baroness while doubting her honesty.
- Mr. BrandA tall, earnest young Unitarian minister who wants Gertrude's love and her moral improvement.
- Clifford WentworthMr. Wentworth's shy, good-natured son, suspended from Harvard, who is expected to marry his pretty cousin Lizzie.
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- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
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Gli europei
by Henry James · 1878
An obscure artist and his clever sister cross the sea to Boston to meet cousins who they hope are rich.
Medium level5–10 hours to readItaliano
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In short
Picture a sleet-battered May morning in Boston. A woman stands at a hotel window and glares at a white church steeple she has decided to hate.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Two travelers land in a cold, wet Boston
The story opens in a Boston hotel room on a miserable May day. Sleet falls on an old graveyard, and a strange horse-drawn streetcar rattles past. Eugenia, thirty-three, paces the floor and declares she wants to go straight back to Europe.
Her brother Felix, twenty-eight, only laughs. He sketches the streetcar and says there is no such thing as a mistake. Eugenia answers that not seeing mistakes is simply what happiness is. She admits she is ambitious, and that she would never have come had she not known their cousins were rich.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1878
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 4 h 20 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
James, Henry. The Europeans. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-europeans.
James, H. (2026). The Europeans. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-europeans (Original work published 1878)
James, Henry. The Europeans. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-europeans.
@book{james2026europeans,
author = {James, Henry},
title = {The Europeans},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-europeans},
note = {First published 1878}
}
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What is The Europeans about?
A baroness and her artist brother come from Europe to visit their American cousins near Boston. Their charm stirs up a serious, quiet family, and the book follows how each person, from a restless daughter to a thoughtful bachelor, responds.
Who is who in The Europeans?
Eugenia is the Baroness Münster and Felix Young is her brother. The Wentworth family includes their uncle, Mr. Wentworth, his daughters Charlotte and Gertrude, and his son Clifford. Robert Acton, his sister Lizzie, and Mr. Brand complete the circle.
What does morganatic marriage mean in The Europeans?
A morganatic marriage unites someone from a ruling house with a commoner, without giving the wife her husband's rank. Eugenia is a baroness through such a marriage, and her family is puzzled by the word.
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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