The Altar of the Dead

by Henry James

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Pages: 33

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Read by Dorlene Kaplan and Larry Caplan · 1 h 32 min · 9 parts

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Chapter 1
7:22
Chapter 2
9:06
Chapter 3
12:55
Chapter 4
8:49
Chapter 5
8:20
Chapter 6
7:04
Chapter 7
9:47
Chapter 8
11:27
Chapter 9
17:26

The Altar of the Dead (1895) is a public domain work.

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About this book

For George Stransom, the anniversary of Mary Antrim’s death still governs the shape of his life. She died of fever after their wedding date had been set, and years later he continues to visit her grave in a London suburb. As his losses accumulate, he develops a private devotion to the people he has known, imagining an altar bright with candles as a place for their remembrance.

Henry James follows the thoughts and social encounters that give this devotion its force. A meeting outside a jeweller’s window exposes Stransom’s strong feelings about a friend’s new marriage. Later, a woman who shares his memorial observances invites him into her home after her aunt’s death. Small gestures and careful conversations reveal the pressure of grief on friendship. Readers interested in memory, forgiveness and the emotional demands of loyalty will find these concerns closely examined in the story.

About the author

Henry James

Henry James was an American-British writer and a master of the psychological novel. Works such as The Portrait of a Lady, The Turn of the Screw, and The Ambassadors explore consciousness, society, and the clash between American and European life.