Publisher's Synopsis
The Last of the Valerii is a novella written by acclaimed American author Henry James. It tells the story of a young American named Newman who travels to Europe in search of adventure and fortune. In Rome, he becomes fascinated with the Valerii, an ancient and noble family with a rich history and a reputation for elegance and sophistication. Despite their initial reluctance, the Valerii welcome Newman into their world and he becomes close with the family's youngest daughter, Claire. However, as Newman becomes more involved with the Valerii, he begins to uncover dark secrets and hidden agendas that threaten to destroy the family's legacy. The Last of the Valerii is a gripping tale of love, betrayal, and the pursuit of power set against the backdrop of the opulent and decadent world of European aristocracy. James' masterful prose and vivid descriptions bring the characters and settings to life, making this novella a timeless classic of American literature.She rode with him sometimes in the tufty shadow of aqueducts and tombs, and sometimes suffered him to show his beautiful wife at Roman dinners and balls. She played dominoes with him after dinner, and carried out in a desultory way a daily scheme of reading him the newspapers. This observance was subject to fluctuations caused by the Counts invincible tendency to go to sleep, a failing his wife never attempted to disguise or palliate. She would sit and brush the flies from him while he lay picturesquely snoozing, and, if I ventured near him, would place her linger on her lips and whisper that she thought her husband was as handsome asleep as awake.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
