The Ambassadors , by Henry James , is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics :

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One of Henry James ’s three late masterpieces, and an exemplar of his complex, mature style, The Ambassadors is considered by many the author’s finest work. James himself judged it to be “frankly, quite the best, ‘all round,’ of my productions.”

The story follows Lambert Strether, a staunch and stoical New Englander, as he travels abroad to rescue his employer’s prodigal son, Chad, from the seductive pitfalls of existence in Paris. Yet the social pleasures of the European capital awaken new urges in the fifty-five year old, and he begins to reconsider his own inadequately realized life. He soon beseeches Chad, “Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to. It doesn’t so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life. If you haven’t had that what have you had?”

As Strether himself becomes involved in a relationship with the fascinating Maria Gostrey, a second, more determined, ambassador is dispatched. An ultimatum is delivered—and resisted—but then an accident reveals surprising truths to Strether, and he must decide whether his loyalties lie with old Europe or new America.

A bittersweet paean to the life not lived, The Ambassadors is one of the most achingly beautiful and moving novels ever written.

Kyle Patrick Smith was raised in San Diego, California, and educated at Harvard. A writer and critic, he lives in Manhattan.

亨利·詹姆斯（Henry James，1843—1916），美国小说家、评论家。其父为著名神学家老亨利·詹姆斯（Henry James,Sr.），兄弟是著名的心理学家和哲学家威廉·詹姆斯（William James），这样的背景大概只有德国的曼（Mann）家族可与之相匹。詹姆斯从小受到良好教育，接受其父的“世界公民”概念，常到欧洲游历，后定居伦敦。詹姆斯于1864年开始写作生涯，他以国际间人与人的关系为主要题材。其代表作品有长篇小说《一个美国人》《一位女士的画像》《卡萨玛西玛公主》等。他的写作在晚年进入一个高峰期，陆续发表了以美国人在欧洲为题材的三部杰作：《鸽翼》《使节》《金碗》。詹姆斯丰富的创作奠定了20世纪现代文学的基石，影响了乔伊斯、伍尔芙等现代派大师，是当之无愧的现代文学先驱。

译者

袁德成，任四川大学外语学院英语系教授,博士生导师分别于 1987-1988 、 1996-1997 、 2005-2006 年在美国哈佛大学、加州大学柏克利分校、堪萨斯大学和英国剑桥大学、约克大学等校的英文系做研究工作。主要研究方向为英美现代主义文学和当代西方文学理论。