Roderick Hudson (Penguin Classics)
First novel by Henry James, serialized in The Atlantic Monthly in 1875 and published in book form in 1876. It was revised by the author in 1879 for publication in England. Roderick Hudson is the story of the conflict between art and the passions; the title character is an American sculptor in Italy. Faltering in both his artistic ambitions and his personal relationships, he travels to Switzerland and dies there.   --The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature