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The Bostonians from Novel into Film

Year 2014, Issue: 40, 37 - 54, 01.10.2014

Abstract

Henry James’s novel The Bostonians presents an emotional and political struggle between a traditionalist Southerner, Basil Ransom, and his Boston-based feminist cousin, Olive Chancellor, for influence over a debutante public speaker, Verena Tarrant. Two film adaptations of The Bostonians have been made: the heritage style costume drama directed by James Ivory in 1984, and the modern reworking titled The Californians 2005, dir. Jonathan Parker . The adaptations shift the perception of emotional attachment between Olive and Verena from late-Victorian romantic friendship to thinly veiled lesbianism. Ivory’s film uses the plot of James’s novel to relate to the problems of the late twentieth century, especially the issue of the conservative backlash in the 1980s. Parker’s version shifts the focus of the narrative from women’s rights to environmentalism

References

  • Anesko, Michael. Monopolizing the Master: Henry James and the Politics of Modern Literary Scholarship. Stanford: Stanford UP, 2012. Print.
  • Bertonneau, Thomas F. “Like Hypatia before the Mob: Desire, Resentment, and Sacrifice in The Bostonians (An Anthropoetics).” NineteenthCentury Literature 53.1 (1998): 56-90. Print.
  • Rev. of The Bostonians, by Henry James. British Quarterly Review Apr. 1886: 480-81. Rpt. in Hayes 160. Print.
  • Rev. of The Bostonians, by Henry James. Chicago Tribune 3 Apr. 1886: 13. Rpt. in Hayes 160-61. Print.
  • Rev. of The Bostonians, by Henry James. Daily News (London) 25 Feb. 1886: 3. Rpt. in Hayes 153. Print.
  • The Bostonians. Dir. James Ivory. Perf. Vanessa Redgrave, Madeleine Potter, and Christopher Reeve. Merchant Ivory Productions, 1984. DVD.
  • Boudreau, Kristin. “A Barnum Monstrosity: Alice James and the Spectacle of Sympathy.” American Literature 65.1 (1993): 53-67. Print.
  • Brake, Elizabeth. “Marriage, Influence, and Deception in Merchant Ivory’s The Europeans and The Bostonians.” Henry James on Stage and Screen. Ed. John R. Bradley. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000. 143- 56. Print.
  • The Californians. Dir. Jonathan Parker. Perf. Noah Wyle, Illeana Douglas, and Kate Mara. Parker Film Company, 2005. DVD.
  • Canby, Vincent. “The Bostonians: A Proper Jamesian Adaptation.” New York Times Film Reviews 5 Aug. 1984: 265-67. Print.
  • Castle, Terry. The Apparitional Lesbian: Female Homosexuality and Modern Culture. New York: Columbia UP, 1993. Print.
  • Coulson, Victoria. Henry James, Women and Realism. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print.
  • Faderman, Lillian. Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love between Women from the Renaissance to the Present. New York: Harper, 2002. Print.
  • Gabler, Janet A. “James’s Rhetorical Arena: the Metaphor of Battle in The Bostonians.” Texas Studies in Literature and Language 27.3 (1985): 270-83. Print.
  • Habegger, Alfred. “The Disunity of The Bostonians.” Nineteenth-Century Fiction 24.2 (1969): 193-209. Print.
  • Hayes, Kevin J., ed. Henry James: The Contemporary Reviews. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996. Print.
  • Hurley, Natasha. “Henry James and the Sexuality of Literature: Before and Beyond Queer Theory.” A Companion to Henry James. Ed. Greg W. Zacharias. Chichester: Blackwell, 2008. 309-23. Print.
  • Ivory, James. “The Trouble with Olive: Divine Madness in Massachusetts.” Sight and Sound 54.2 (1985): 95-100. Print.
  • James, Henry. The Bostonians. London: Everyman, 1992. Print.
  • Leo, Vince. “The Californians (2005): Comedy-Drama.” Qwipster’s Movie Reviews. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.
  • Long, Robert Emmett. James Ivory in Conversation. Berkeley: U of California P, 2005. Print.
  • McColley, Kathleen. “Claiming Center Stage: Speaking Out for Homoerotic Empowerment in The Bostonians.” Henry James Review 21.2 (2000): 151-69. Print.
  • McMurray, William. “Pragmatic Realism in The Bostonians.” NineteenthCentury Fiction 16.4 (1962): 339-44. Print.
  • Person, Leland S. “Still Me(n): Superman Meets The Bostonians.” Henry James Goes to the Movies. Ed. Susan M. Griffin. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 2002. 99-125. Print.
  • Reeve, Christopher. Still Me. New York: Ballantine, 1998. Print.
  • Rowe, John Carlos. The Other Henry James. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1998. Print.
  • Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky. Epistemology of the Closet. Berkeley: U of California P, 1990. Print.
  • Sensibar, Judith L. “The Politics of Hysteria in The Bostonians.” South Central Review 8.2 (1991): 57-72. Print.
  • Smith, G. Barnett. [Rev. of The Bostonians.] Academy 6 Mar. 1886: 162. Rpt. in Hayes 153-54. Print.
  • Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll. Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1985. Print.
  • Stevens, Hugh. Henry James and Sexuality. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print.
  • Van Leer, David. “A World of Female Friendship: The Bostonians.” Henry James and Homo-Erotic Desire. Ed. John R. Bradley. New York: St. Martin’s, 1999. 93-109. Print.
  • Vidal, Belén. Heritage Film: Nation, Genre and Representation. New York: Columbia UP, 2012. Print.
  • Woolf, Judith. Henry James: The Major Novels. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1991. Print.
Year 2014, Issue: 40, 37 - 54, 01.10.2014

Abstract

References

  • Anesko, Michael. Monopolizing the Master: Henry James and the Politics of Modern Literary Scholarship. Stanford: Stanford UP, 2012. Print.
  • Bertonneau, Thomas F. “Like Hypatia before the Mob: Desire, Resentment, and Sacrifice in The Bostonians (An Anthropoetics).” NineteenthCentury Literature 53.1 (1998): 56-90. Print.
  • Rev. of The Bostonians, by Henry James. British Quarterly Review Apr. 1886: 480-81. Rpt. in Hayes 160. Print.
  • Rev. of The Bostonians, by Henry James. Chicago Tribune 3 Apr. 1886: 13. Rpt. in Hayes 160-61. Print.
  • Rev. of The Bostonians, by Henry James. Daily News (London) 25 Feb. 1886: 3. Rpt. in Hayes 153. Print.
  • The Bostonians. Dir. James Ivory. Perf. Vanessa Redgrave, Madeleine Potter, and Christopher Reeve. Merchant Ivory Productions, 1984. DVD.
  • Boudreau, Kristin. “A Barnum Monstrosity: Alice James and the Spectacle of Sympathy.” American Literature 65.1 (1993): 53-67. Print.
  • Brake, Elizabeth. “Marriage, Influence, and Deception in Merchant Ivory’s The Europeans and The Bostonians.” Henry James on Stage and Screen. Ed. John R. Bradley. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000. 143- 56. Print.
  • The Californians. Dir. Jonathan Parker. Perf. Noah Wyle, Illeana Douglas, and Kate Mara. Parker Film Company, 2005. DVD.
  • Canby, Vincent. “The Bostonians: A Proper Jamesian Adaptation.” New York Times Film Reviews 5 Aug. 1984: 265-67. Print.
  • Castle, Terry. The Apparitional Lesbian: Female Homosexuality and Modern Culture. New York: Columbia UP, 1993. Print.
  • Coulson, Victoria. Henry James, Women and Realism. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print.
  • Faderman, Lillian. Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love between Women from the Renaissance to the Present. New York: Harper, 2002. Print.
  • Gabler, Janet A. “James’s Rhetorical Arena: the Metaphor of Battle in The Bostonians.” Texas Studies in Literature and Language 27.3 (1985): 270-83. Print.
  • Habegger, Alfred. “The Disunity of The Bostonians.” Nineteenth-Century Fiction 24.2 (1969): 193-209. Print.
  • Hayes, Kevin J., ed. Henry James: The Contemporary Reviews. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996. Print.
  • Hurley, Natasha. “Henry James and the Sexuality of Literature: Before and Beyond Queer Theory.” A Companion to Henry James. Ed. Greg W. Zacharias. Chichester: Blackwell, 2008. 309-23. Print.
  • Ivory, James. “The Trouble with Olive: Divine Madness in Massachusetts.” Sight and Sound 54.2 (1985): 95-100. Print.
  • James, Henry. The Bostonians. London: Everyman, 1992. Print.
  • Leo, Vince. “The Californians (2005): Comedy-Drama.” Qwipster’s Movie Reviews. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.
  • Long, Robert Emmett. James Ivory in Conversation. Berkeley: U of California P, 2005. Print.
  • McColley, Kathleen. “Claiming Center Stage: Speaking Out for Homoerotic Empowerment in The Bostonians.” Henry James Review 21.2 (2000): 151-69. Print.
  • McMurray, William. “Pragmatic Realism in The Bostonians.” NineteenthCentury Fiction 16.4 (1962): 339-44. Print.
  • Person, Leland S. “Still Me(n): Superman Meets The Bostonians.” Henry James Goes to the Movies. Ed. Susan M. Griffin. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 2002. 99-125. Print.
  • Reeve, Christopher. Still Me. New York: Ballantine, 1998. Print.
  • Rowe, John Carlos. The Other Henry James. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1998. Print.
  • Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky. Epistemology of the Closet. Berkeley: U of California P, 1990. Print.
  • Sensibar, Judith L. “The Politics of Hysteria in The Bostonians.” South Central Review 8.2 (1991): 57-72. Print.
  • Smith, G. Barnett. [Rev. of The Bostonians.] Academy 6 Mar. 1886: 162. Rpt. in Hayes 153-54. Print.
  • Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll. Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1985. Print.
  • Stevens, Hugh. Henry James and Sexuality. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print.
  • Van Leer, David. “A World of Female Friendship: The Bostonians.” Henry James and Homo-Erotic Desire. Ed. John R. Bradley. New York: St. Martin’s, 1999. 93-109. Print.
  • Vidal, Belén. Heritage Film: Nation, Genre and Representation. New York: Columbia UP, 2012. Print.
  • Woolf, Judith. Henry James: The Major Novels. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1991. Print.
There are 34 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Dorota Babilas This is me

Publication Date October 1, 2014
Published in Issue Year 2014 Issue: 40

Cite

MLA Babilas, Dorota. “The Bostonians from Novel into Film”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, no. 40, 2014, pp. 37-54.

JAST - Journal of American Studies of Turkey