Washington Square

Henry James

Oxford Bookworms LibraryLevel 4

A level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library graded readers. Retold for Learners of English by Kieran McGovern.

When a handsome young man begins to court Catherine Sloper, she feels she is very lucky. She is a quiet, gentle girl, but neither beautiful nor clever; no one had ever admired her before, or come to the front parlour of her home in Washington Square to whisper soft words of love to her.

But in New York in the 1840s young ladies are not free to marry where they please. Catherine must have her father’s permission, and Dr Sloper is a rich man. One day Catherine will have a fortune of 30,000 dollars a year…

HENRY JAMES

Washington Square

WASHINGTON SQUARE

To own a house in Washington Square is a sign of success in nineteenth-century New York, and Dr Austin Sloper is a successful man. He is also fashionable, interesting, amusing, and clever.

His daughter Catherine is none of those things. She is a good, simple girl, who loves and admires her father and always tries hard to please him, but she is a great disappointment to him. Dr Sloper does not expect any interest or excitement from Catherine.

But life in Washington Square does become rather exciting, after all. Romance arrives, in the shape of a handsome young man who comes to court Catherine. This pleases Catherine’s foolish aunt, Mrs Penniman, very much; she thinks Morris Townsend is charming, and so of course does Catherine. Dr Sloper, however, looks at young Mr Townsend rather differently. The Doctor is a rich man, and is conscious that after his death Catherine will inherit a fortune of 30,000 dollars a year. He wonders why such a charming and handsome young man is courting his dull daughter …

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ISBN 978 0 19 479192 2

A complete recording of this Bookworms edition of Washington Square is available on audio CD ISBN 978 0 19 479159 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Illustrated by: John Holder

Word count (main text): 15,490 words

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e-Book first published 2012

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Poor Catherine

In the first half of the nineteenth century there lived in New York a very successful doctor. His success was for two reasons. He was, without doubt, a good doctor, intelligent and hones