Julia Bride Summary

Julia Bride by Henry James

 

Julia Bride is a beautiful young American lady who has chequered past. The son of a wealthy and traditional New York family, named Basil French is courting her. He wants to know more about her background, but she shows reluctant. She does not want people know that her mother has been married twice and almost three times. Also, Julia has been engaged six times, which is embarrasing. 

She asks Mr. Pitman, her mother's second husband, for helping her out of her social dilemma. In the other hand, Mr. Pitman wants her to help him in a similar situation with a wealthy widow. Julia wants to seem appropiated and innocent in front of Basil's eyes.

She helps Pitman and he gives her the idea of contacting Murray Brush, one of her ex-fiancées, to ask him to annouce that they are just good friends, and that he is going to marry Mary Lindeck. Apparently, everything is going well, but Murray is interested in taking advantage of the rich Basil. When Julia realises, she feels devastated. She will naver gain Basil French.

Henry James

 Born on April 15, 1843, in New York City, Henry James became one of his generation's most well-known writers and remains so to this day for such works as The Portrait of a Lady and The Turn of the Screw. Having lived in England for 40 years, James became a British subject in 1915, the year before his death. He died on February 28, 1916, in London, England.