The Bostonians Henry James - The Bostonians is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Century Magazine in 18851886 and then as a book in 1886. This bittersweet tragicomedy centers on an odd triangle of characters: Basil Ransom, a political conservative from Mississippi; Olive Chancellor, Ransom's cousin and a Boston feminist; and Verena Tarrant, a pretty, young protégée of Oliv...