Regarded as one of his finest works, Henry James' 'The Bostonians' (1886) is a brilliant satire about the women's rights movement in America. Verena Tarrant is an inspirational feminist speaker, but her two disparate cousins are at loggerheads as they seek to control her future. Boston feminist Olive Chancellor hopes to turn Verena into a famous activist, while Basil Ransom, a southern lawyer, hopes to win Verena's heart. Fans of The Bostonians might want to watch the movie adaptation from 1984, starring Christopher Reeve and Vanessa Redgrave.
