An examination of the work of Henry James. Topics covered range from commodity and style in "Washington Square", to the peculiarity of social life in "The Bostonians". Other works by the author include "Ezra Pound: Tactics for Reading" and "Henry James's Fiction as History".

Part 1 Consuming the past - the backward glance of "Washington Square": commodity and style; money, history and writing. Part 2 Consuming the present - the private spectacles of "The Bostonians": publicity and emptiness; language, setting and self; the peculiarity of social life - reform and gender; the personal, the private and the public. Part 3 Romancing the past - "The Europeans" and the design of desire: sincerity and performance; the self's representation.