The Tragic Muse (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Victorian Romance NovelBy Henry James
Length26h 3m
About this audiobook
The Tragic Muse is Henry James's ambitious 1890 novel of vocation, performance, and social constraint, centered on Miriam Rooth, a fiercely gifted actress, and Nick Dormer, a young politician drawn toward painting. Set among London drawing rooms, Parisian studios, and theatrical circles, the book examines the cost of artistic seriousness in a society that prizes rank, marriage, and public usefulness. James's prose is richly analytical, poised between his middle-period social realism and the denser psychological method of his later fiction, while its concern with theatre places it within late-Victorian debates about art as profession and moral calling. James, an American expatriate deeply immersed in European culture, repeatedly explored the clash between personal imagination and inherited social forms. His own fascination with the stage—soon to become a painful practical ambition in his career as a dramatist—shapes the novel's unusually intimate understanding of theatrical discipline, ambition, and sacrifice. His cosmopolitan life gave him the vantage point from which to scrutinize both British public life and the transnational republic of art. This novel is recommended to readers interested in psychological fiction, artistic identity, and Victorian cultural history. Though expansive and demanding, it rewards attention with one of James's most searching portraits of the artist's vocation.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.3 (12)
Includes Amazon
GenreLiterary Classics, General Fiction
Length26 hrs 3 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMar 29, 2018
LanguageEnglish
The Complete Works of Henry JamesHenry James737h 19m4.3 (527)$1.99 · $0.00
The Love of Romance - 50 Books in One CollectionHenry James, Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë, William Shakespeare, Fanny Burney, Stendhal, R.D. Blackmore, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Nathaniel Hawthorne, George Eliot, Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Hardy, Elizabeth Gaskell, Edith Wharton, Alexandre Dumas, Meredith Nicholson, Charles Dickens, Gaston Leroux, E. M. Forster, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Theodore Dreiser, H. G. Wells, Grace Livingston Hill, Earl Derr Biggers, Walter Scott, Virginia Woolf, Burton Egbert Stevenson, P.G. Wodehouse, Georgette Heyer, Madeleine L'Engle, O. Douglas, Kate Chopin757h 55m$1.99 · $0.00
THE TRAGIC MUSEHenry James23h 46m3.8 (749)$1.99 · $0.00
THE AMBASSADORSHenry James19h 26m3.9 (34.5K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Complete Novels of Henry James - All 24 Books in One EditionHenry James295h 39m4.4 (112)$1.99 · $0.00
The Wings of the Dove (Complete Edition)Henry James21h 32m3.9 (33.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The ReverberatorHenry James5h 28m3.6 (962)$12 · $0.00
THE PRINCESS CASAMASSIMAHenry James24h 16m3.8 (4.5K)$1.99 · $0.00
WHAT MAISIE KNEWHenry James11h 50m3.7 (33.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Greatest Works of Henry JamesHenry James730h 17m$1.99 · $0.00
The Harvard Fiction Classics in 20 Volumes (Complete Collection)Henry James, George Eliot, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, Jane Austen, Walter Scott, William Makepeace Thackeray, Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Francis Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Edward Everett Hale, Victor Hugo, Honoré Balzac, George Sand, Alfred de Musset, Alphonse Daudet, Guy de Maupassant, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Gottfried Keller, Theodor Storm, Theodor Fontane, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ivan Turgenev, Juan Valera, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Alexander L. Kielland384h 16m4.2 (264)$1.99 · $0.00
What Maisie KnewHenry James8h 46m3.8 (28.3K)$16 · $0.00
The Wheel of TimeHenry James1h 56m2.9 (27)$7 · $0.00
The Awkward AgeHenry James13h 32m3.6 (4.5K)$10 · $0.00
Lord BeaupreHenry James2h 13m3.2 (24)$7 · $0.00
The Turn of the ScrewHenry James4h 35m3.6 (344.6K)$16 · $0.00
The Time Traveler's Bookshelf: Eight Unforgettable BooksHenry James, Fritz Leiber, Murray Leinster, Robert F. Young, Andre Norton, Philip K. Dick, Clifford D. Simak, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman32h 29m4.0 (18)$0.99 · $0.00
Daisy MillerHenry James2h 45m3.6 (91.4K)$0.99 · $0.00
El Retrato de una DamaHenry James28h 11m3.9 (292.5K)$0.99 · $0.00
Otra vuelta de tuercaHenry James4h 59m3.6 (318.4K)$0.99 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m4.7 (2.8K)$15 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
TWELFTH NIGHTWilliam Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (2.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)William Shakespeare29h 42m4.6 (2.3K)$0.99 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 50m4.6 (1.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust16h 8m4.5 (10.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Mis-Education of the NegroCarter Goodwin Woodson4h 32m4.5 (28.4K)$10 · $0.00
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie3h 50m4.6 (1.4K)$4.70 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery11h 1m4.5 (1.2M)$2.30 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$0.99 · $0.00
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
War LordBernard Cornwell13h 21m4.6 (33.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
Something Like LoveBeverly Jenkins10h 21m4.6 (2.7K)$29 · $0.00
Black History CollectionFrederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois27h 9m4.6 (2.6K)$18 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
White HotIlona Andrews13h 18m4.5 (136.9K)$5 · $0.00
The Ghost by the Billabong (The Matilda Saga, #5)Jackie French14h 58m4.6 (773)$33 · $0.00
Cast in BloodMichelle Sagara16h 35m4.6 (607)$33 · $0.00
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)Rafael Sabatini29h 20m4.6 (1K)$3 · $0.00
Ship of the Line (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith11h 13m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The George Orwell CollectionGeorge Orwell24h 46m4.5 (14.4K)$12 · $0.00
ShivajiRanjit Desai25h 13m4.6 (3.1K)$24 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 38m4.5 (9.2K)$2 · $0.00
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
When God Calls the HeartBrian Bird, Michelle Cox3h 24m4.6 (439)$10 · $0.00
You may also like
The Age of InnocenceEdith Wharton11h 27m4.1 (241.1K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Portrait of a Lady (The Unabridged Edition) (Annotated)Henry James28h 15m4.0 (106.1K)$2 · $0.00
THE PORTRAIT OF A LADYHenry James27h 7m3.9 (104.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Age of Innocence and Other Tales of Old New YorkEdith Wharton21h 31m4.3 (374)$1.99 · $0.00
THE COMPLETE PALLISER NOVELS (All 6 Novels in One Edition)Anthony Trollope172h 46m4.5 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Age of InnocenceEdith Wharton10h 39m4.0 (236.2K)$2.30 · $0.00
The Age of InnocenceEdith Wharton11h 28m4.1 (246.9K)$3.50 · $0.00
Anna Karenina - The Unabridged Garnett Translation (Annotated)Leo Tolstoy38h 34m4.2 (821.5K)$0.99 · $0.00
The House of MirthEdith Wharton14h 12m4.1 (130.4K)$2 · $0.00
The Complete Novels of George Eliot (Annotated)George Eliot169h 40m4.5 (2.2K)$3 · $0.00
MiddlemarchGeorge Eliot34h 44m4.2 (224.8K)$21 · $0.00
The House of Mirth (Romance Classic)Edith Wharton15h 46m4.1 (132.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
Anna Karenina (Annotated Maude Translation)Leo Tolstoy40h 20m4.3 (999.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Age of InnocenceEdith Wharton9h 46m4.1 (244.3K)$6 · $0.00
The Age of InnocenceEdith Wharton10h 39m4.1 (217K)$2.30
Can You Forgive Her? (Annotated)Anthony Trollope34h 55m4.4 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Age Of InnocenceEdith Wharton11h 28m4.1 (244.1K)$3.50 · $0.00
The Age of InnocenceEdith Wharton14h 51m4.1 (237.2K)$35.90 · $0.00
Rodin’s LoverHeather Webb12h 27m3.9 (5.4K)$23
A Woman of Thirty (Annotated)Honoré de Balzac9h 14m3.6 (7.8K)$2 · $0.00