Patrick James

London-based American working on finance, strategy, and operations.

Currently Reading:

Roger E. Backhouse, The Penguin History of Economics (2023): The history of economic thinking from the pre-socratic philosophers to the present day. I figure I need a refresher before tackling bigger works.

Recently Finished Reading:

Henry James, The American (1887): Mr. Christopher Newman, an American businessman having made a small fortune, moves to Paris and resolves to find a wife after buying some paintings from a young girl at the Louvre. Under the advice of compatriots whom he finds and befrends, he enjoys Europe on a grand tour for the summer, travelling for a while with a unitarian minister from Massachusetts. He encounters the aristocrat Madame de Cintré (Claire de Bellegarde) in Paris - friend of friend - a young widow. Attempts to make in-roads with her lead to a friendship with her brother, Monsieur de Bellegarde. Christopher Newman endures the many difficulties of the Bellegarde family, eventually proposing marriage to Madame de Centré (Claire) which she accepts. Attempts to navigate his inherent American tenacity and brashness in a sea of aristocratic convention and family expectation lead to the discovery of the Bellegarde's past and its utility as leverage over the family. The novel's resolution pits Newman's good nature against his highest interest and leaves the reader wondering whether the Bellegards used it against him. High recommend to Americans in Europe.