The Spoils of Poynton
Henry James
256 pages, Paperback
ISBN: 0192837796
ISBN13:
Language: English
Publish: March 30, 2000
19th CenturyAmericanClassic LiteratureClassicsFictionLiterary FictionLiteratureNovelsRomanceVictorian
Mrs. Gareth, widowed chatelaine of Poynton, is fighting to keep her house with its priceless objets d’art from her son Owen and his lovely, utterly philistine fiancée. When she discovers that her young friend and sympathized Fleda Vetch is secretly in love with Owen, she thrusts her into the battle-line.
The power struggle that ensues between the three women leaves Owen vacillating. What is at stake is not the mere possession of tables and chairs; it is, for Fleda, a conflict between aesthetic ideals, ethical imperatives, and her innermost feelings, in which she risks betraying, and being betrayed by, all that she holds most dear.