The Sacred Fount
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Condition: Good to fair. Paperback. Page Condition: Good - possible tanning. Markings: possible previous owner inscription.
The Sacred Fount stands as one of Henry James's most enigmatic and psychologically intense works of fiction, first published in 1901. The novel follows an unnamed narrator attending a weekend house party at Newmarch, an English country estate, who becomes obsessively fixated on a peculiar theory — that intimate relationships between people drain one partner of their vitality, youth, or intellect, replenishing the other. With characteristic Jamesian precision and introspection, the narrative unfolds entirely through the narrator's increasingly unreliable observations and mounting suspicions about the guests around him. The novel masterfully illustrates the dangers of overactive imagination and the moral ambiguity of voyeuristic speculation, blurring the line between acute social intelligence and paranoid fantasy. A challenging and rewarding read, it remains a cornerstone of late-period Jamesian prose, celebrated for its dense, layered psychological atmosphere.
Author: Henry James
Format: Paperback
Genre: Classic fiction
Condition remarks:
Condition: Good to fair. Paperback. Page Condition: Good - possible tanning. Markings: possible previous owner inscription.
The Sacred Fount stands as one of Henry James's most enigmatic and psychologically intense works of fiction, first published in 1901. The novel follows an unnamed narrator attending a weekend house party at Newmarch, an English country estate, who becomes obsessively fixated on a peculiar theory — that intimate relationships between people drain one partner of their vitality, youth, or intellect, replenishing the other. With characteristic Jamesian precision and introspection, the narrative unfolds entirely through the narrator's increasingly unreliable observations and mounting suspicions about the guests around him. The novel masterfully illustrates the dangers of overactive imagination and the moral ambiguity of voyeuristic speculation, blurring the line between acute social intelligence and paranoid fantasy. A challenging and rewarding read, it remains a cornerstone of late-period Jamesian prose, celebrated for its dense, layered psychological atmosphere.