Set in Boston during the aftermath of the American Civil War we follow Olive Chancellor, a staunch feminist, who sees in the young Verena a gifted and impassioned figurehead for the women's cause. Unfortunately for Olive, the chauvinistic Basil Ransom sees in Verena the perfect wife, and so begins a battle of wills for Verena's sensibilities. "The Bostonians" is classic Merchant Ivory, a sumptuous and sensitive adaptation of one of their favourite authors, Henry James.