THE AMBASSADORS - Page 4 of 6 - book summaries and study materials

Summary and Analysis Book 9: Chapter III

Summary Strether goes to Sarah’s hotel, and though the servant admits him to her apartment, he sees no one in the room. His attention is directed to a table on which sits an unopened letter from Mrs. Newsome. “It had altogether such an effect upon him as made him for […]

Summary and Analysis Book 9: Chapter II

Henry James

Summary Sarah, her first week in Paris almost over, has been treating Strether “with a civil consistency of chill.” Strether does not know what to fully make of this development, and finding no relief in his “crowded empty expensive” days, he calls on Maria Gostrey. Because Maria is not directly […]

Summary and Analysis Book 9: Chapter I

Henry James

Summary A couple of days after the confrontation in Sarah’s apartment, Strether calls on Madame de Vionnet. Keeping his appointment “to the minute,” Strether fluctuates “between the sense of having something to tell her and the sense of having nothing at all.” Strether is still struck with the fact that […]

Summary and Analysis Book 8: Chapter III

Henry James

Summary The day after the Pococks’ arrival, Strether visits Sarah at her apartment. To his surprise, the first thing he hears as he nears the door is the voice of Madame de Vionnet. Upon entering the room, Strether’s surprise is increased when he finds Waymarsh with the two women. Sarah […]

Summary and Analysis Book 8: Chapter II

Henry James

Summary As Chad leaves the station with Sarah, Mamie Pocock, and the maid, Strether and Jim Pocock depart together in a cab. Strether, buoyed by a smile from Sarah which he interprets as a sign that he “was then as much as ever the valued friend of her family,” assesses […]

Summary and Analysis Book 8: Chapter I

Henry James

Summary Not desiring the company of Waymarsh, Strether “rambled alone” in and about Paris. He had given Waymarsh the opportunity to confess that he was somehow involved with “Mrs. Newsome’s summons,” but Waymarsh declined to say anything. Chad is out of town, and Strether, with time on his hands, visits […]

Summary and Analysis Book 7: Chapter III

Henry James

Summary That same afternoon, Strether meets Maria, who has now just returned to Paris. He reveals that he is convinced that Waymarsh has been in communication with Mrs. Newsome, that Waymarsh has “written to Woollett that I’m in peril of perdition.” Strether is not angry at Waymarsh; he is relieved […]

Summary and Analysis Book 7: Chapter II

Henry James

Summary Three days later, Strether receives a telegram from Mrs. Newsome. He reads it carefully and at some length, then crumples it up in his fist “as if to get it out of the way.” Waymarsh arrives and watches Strether unfold the paper, smooth it out on the table, and […]

Summary and Analysis Book 7: Chapter I

Henry James

Summary About two weeks later at the cathedral of Notre Dame, which he has taken to visiting frequently as a “refuge from the obsession of his problem,” Strether sees Madame de Vionnet sitting in the church. Seeing her reinforces his determination to help her: “. . . he had resolved […]

Summary and Analysis Book 6: Chapter III

Henry James

Summary Madame de Vionnet, whom Strether here compares to “a goddess still partly engaged in a morning cloud,” joins Strether and Miss Barrace and asks her tactfully to leave in order to ask Strether a question: “Why has Maria so suddenly gone?” Strether explains that Maria has gone south to […]