The Bostonians by Henry James was a very interesting piece. James’ underlying tone for the spiritualism and mesmerism is clearly a picture of the time when the piece was written. I thought that is played an important influence in his writing. Ruth Hall by Fanny Fern is an unofficial biography of her own life as a women activist. One of the underlying issues that stands out from her novel is the way that she includes …showed first 75 words of 794 total…

…showed last 75 words of 794 total…understand. The underlying themes in these books are what make them interesting. James, with his fascination of spiritualism, and Fern with her introduction of women’s rights for all classes. Without the underlying theme in The Bostonians I would have found the book a little drawn out and boring. But Ruth Hall I found very interesting. It was Fern’s look at her life and all the issues surrounding her movement that kept me entranced.