Glasses

Henry James · 1896 · Drama & Literary

On a breezy cliff at Folkestone a painter is struck by the face of Flora Saunt, a young woman whose beauty stops strangers in their tracks — and who would rather go blind than wear the spectacles that could save her failing sight. Henry James turns this small, cruel predicament into a subtle, ironic drama of vanity, love, and sight. Around Flora move a shrewd goggled friend who tells the plain truth, a cold viscount who wants only her beauty, and a plain, awkward man who loves her without hope and without end. A miniature masterpiece that asks who, in the end, truly sees us — with a strange, gentle close that has surprised readers for over a century. Complete and richly illustrated.