Audiobook · read by volunteers
Wings of the Dove
Henry James (1843–1916)
Read by Aaron Elliott, Elizabeth Klett, hefyd, texttalker, Lars Rolander (1942-2016), krithiga, Arfuhrm, S. Young, Marion Slawson, Jennifer Stearns · 39 chapters · 20 h 11
About the book
Milly Theale is a young American heiress, newly alone in the world, who comes to Europe with a mysterious illness and a great fortune. In London she meets Kate Croy, clever and ambitious, who is in love with a penniless journalist, Merton Densher, and under pressure from a formidable aunt. As Milly’s fate becomes known, a plan forms among those around her, and the question of what people will do for love, for money and for each other is placed before the reader. Henry James writes with a famous subtlety, in long and intricate sentences that explore thoughts and motives with extraordinary care. This is a demanding and rewarding novel, shared by a team of LibriVox volunteers over about twenty hours, and best approached with time and attention. It is a story to follow slowly and with close attention.
Introduction
Henry James, who lived from 1843 to 1916, was an American-born novelist who spent most of his adult life in Europe, and whose fiction explores the encounter between the New World and the Old. The Wings of the Dove was published in 1902, and it belongs to the group of late novels, together with The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl, in which his style reached its most elaborate form. In a preface written for a later edition, James tells us that the central situation of the book had been in his mind for a very long time: a young person conscious of a doom, and a wish to live fully before it arrives.
The novel is built around three characters whose moral choices drive the plot. James is less concerned with outward events than with the inner lives of his characters, and with the way a decision made in one drawing room can reshape a life. This is a story about betrayal, kindness and the strange power of the dying over the living. The settings, London and Venice, are among the most memorable in his work.
The recording has 39 chapters, beginning with the Preface, for a total of about twenty hours. A team of volunteers shares the reading. The text asks for concentration, but the voices help to give the long sentences shape and clarity. For lovers of psychological fiction, it is one of the great experiences, and listening aloud can reveal the music of James’s prose. The length is considerable, but the novel is organised in books, and the story gathers pace as the relationships tighten. Listening gives the long sentences a natural rhythm.
Public domain
Henry James died in 1916: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text