The American

by Henry James

"The American" by Henry James is a novel published in 1877. Christopher Newman, a wealthy American businessman, travels to Europe seeking culture and a refined wife. He falls for Claire de Cintré, a young widow from an aristocratic Parisian family. But Newman's honest American spirit collides with Old World class prejudices and dark family secrets. As romance blooms and complications mount, he must navigate the treacherous divide between New World optimism and European sophistication in this tale of international manners and mismatched worlds.