Reading by John Lescault

A gifted American artist finds fame, fortune, and tragedy in Europe in this classic tale. Working in obscurity, sculptor Roderick Hudson finds a generous patron in Rowland Mallet, an art aficionado so captivated by the young man's work, he offers to take Hudson with him to Europe. Mallet soon falls in love with Miss Mary Garland, a distant cousin of Hudson's who lives with the family and tends to his aging mother. Unfortunately, Hudson has already proposed to Mary. In Rome, Hudson's unparalleled talents bring him accolades and admiration, placing Mallet in a confounding predicament when his protǧě begins to entertain women other than Mary, including a beauty betrothed to a prince. Two serious and potentially devastating love triangles form as Hudson struggles to balance his artistic pursuits with his insatiable lust for life. Part tragedy, part love story, Roderick Hudson is one of the finest novels ever written about art and an inspiration for many a classic bildungsroman, including James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

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