All Formats & Editions

Making her debut in London society, Nanda Brookenham is being groomed for the marriage market. Thrust suddenly into the superficial and immoral circle that surrounds her mother, the innocent but independent-minded young woman even finds herself in competition with Mrs Brookenham... Read Full Overview

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Brookenham host an effete, rather corrupt social circle. They are the parents of worthless Harold and sweet but knowledgeable Nanda (age eighteen). Mr. Longdon attends one of their social functions and is amazed at how much Nanda resembles her grandmother,... Read Full Overview

Nanda Brookenham is 'coming out' in London society. Thrust suddenly into the vicious, immoral circle that has gathered round her mother, she even finds herself in competition with Mrs Brookenham for the affection of the man she admires. Light and ironic in its touch, The Awkward... Read Full Overview

Henry James creates a harrowing analysis of society and its workings in The Awkward Age (1899) by exploring the English character and the conflict between new and old money along with a subtle satirical touch. James wrote The Awkward Age around the same time as The Turn of the... Read Full Overview

Written at the end of the 1890s, when issues such as female emancipation and the double standard were in fierce debate, James's novel enacts the tension between various views of women and also of a aristocracy that was fading.

Nanda Brookenham is 'coming out' in London society. Thrust suddenly into the vicious, immoral circle that has gathered round her mother, she even finds herself in competition with Mrs Brookenham for the affection of the man she admires. Light and ironic in its touch, The Awkward... Read Full Overview

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality... Read Full Overview

Henry James creates a harrowing analysis of society and its workings in The Awkward Age (1899) by exploring the English character and the conflict between new and old money along with a subtle satirical touch. James wrote The Awkward Age around the same time as The Turn of the... Read Full Overview

I recall with perfect ease the idea in which "The Awkward Age" had its origin, but re-perusal gives me pause in respect to naming it. This composition, as it stands, makes, to my vision-and will have made perhaps still more to that of its readers-so considerable a mass beside... Read Full Overview

It comes back to me, the whole "job," as wonderfully amusing and delightfully difficult from the first; since amusement deeply abides, I think, in any artistic attempt the basis and groundwork of which are conscious of a particular firmness. On that hard fine floor the element... Read Full Overview

A tragicomedy of manners that explores the conflicts between generations, sexes, and social classes in turn-of-the-century London. The plot revolves around the love affair between Nanda Brookenham, a young and innocent girl from a prominent family, and Julius Longdon, a charming... Read Full Overview

A tragicomedy of manners that explores the conflicts between generations, sexes, and social classes in turn-of-the-century London. The plot revolves around the love affair between Nanda Brookenham, a young and innocent girl from a prominent family, and Julius Longdon, a charming... Read Full Overview

Excerpt from The Awkward Age: A Novel

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

The Awkward Age is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in Harper's Weekly in 1898-1899 and then as a book later in 1899. Originally conceived as a brief, light story about the complications created in her family's social set by a young girl coming of age, the... Read Full Overview