Washington Square provides a brilliant entry point to the work of a master novelist; the story of Catherine Sloper, a slightly frumpy girl in turn of the century New York who is courted by a dashing suitor. We're never really sure whether he's genuine or not, but what we instead see clearly is the streak of sadism in Catherine's father, who mounts a campaign to crush her happiness. It's breezier than much of James' later work, and also ultra-witty, but it possesses a weird emotional force that makes it a story to read more than once.