The Bostonians

Originally serialised in the Century Magazine between 1885 and 1886, before being published in book form later that year, The Bostonians is unusual for a James novel in that it is presented as a light social tragicomedy set in America. The plot centres upon what is in effect a love triangle between, on the one side, the lawyer and Civil War veteran Basil Ransom, on the other his cousin Olive Chancellor, and in between the young, pretty feminist Verena Tarrant. Though James doesn't explicitly talk of a lesbian relationship between Olive and Verena, the fact that he has them living together and sets a precedent with the term 'A Boston Marriage' to describe this state (the term would later be used to summarise such an arrangement), did place the novel in a precarious position with the more conservative critics in America.