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Henry James
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What Maisie Knew Paperback – 15 October 2010

by Henry James (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars 77
Edition: 1st
See all formats and editions
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A new edition of this classic James novel, edited and introduced by Christopher Ricks

After her parents' bitter divorce, young Maisie Farange finds herself shuttled between her selfish mother and vain father, who value her only as a means for provoking each other. Maisie - solitary, observant and wise beyond her years - is drawn into an increasingly entangled adult world of intrigue and sexual betrayal, until she is finally compelled to choose her own future. What Maisie Knew is a subtle yet devastating portrayal of an innocent adrift in a corrupt society. Part of a relaunch of three James titles.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0141441372
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0141441375
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Penguin
  5. Publication date
    15 October 2010
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    1.78 x 12.95 x 19.56 cm
  8. Print length
    352 pages
  9. See all details
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"Reading Henry James is like putting a new faculty to the test. This is the true morality."--Anita Brookner

About the Author

Henry James was born on April 15th 1843 in New York. He was the brother of the philosopher and psychologist William James. He spent a great deal of his life in Europe, especially England. He is best known for his cosmopolitan and often haunting portraits of European and American life. His most famous fictional works include The Portrait of a Lady (1881), What Maisie Knew (1897), The Turn of the Screw (1898), The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903) and The Golden Bowl (1904). He also wrote literary criticism, most famously The Art of the Fiction (1884). He died on February 28th 1916.

Christopher Ricks is Professor of the Humanities at Boston University, where he has taught since 1986, and Co-Director of the Editorial Institute. He was formerly King Edward VII Professor of English Literature at the University of Cambridge. He has written books on Milton, Tennyson, Keats, Eliot, Beckett and Bob Dylan, and he has edited the poems of Tennyson, the early uncollected poems of Eliot, the selected poems of James Henry, and the poems of Samuel Menashe, as well as two anthologies.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin; 1st edition (15 October 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141441372
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141441375
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1.78 x 12.95 x 19.56 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 77

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Henry James

Henry James

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Henry James (1843-1916), the son of the religious philosopher Henry James Sr. and brother of the psychologist and philosopher William James, published many important novels including Daisy Miller, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, and The Ambassadors.

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ALAN
5.0 out of 5 stars I RECCOMEND YOU READ THIS EDITION.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2021
Verified Purchase
This is the 1897 edition of WHAT MAISIE KNEW, Henry James 1908 revision made the book more Jamesian,
I prefer the original; here are two examples.
CHAPTER XV1 (1897) a very different class of person
CHAPTER XV1 (1908) lower in the scale of "form" than
CHAPTER XV111 (1897) her tears
CHAPTER XV111 (1908) the friendly suffusion of her eyes.

I also like the Christopher Ricks introduction.
One person found this helpful
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Client d'Amazon
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on 24 October 2017
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Très bon livre
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Jason2345
3.0 out of 5 stars Décevant
Reviewed in France on 11 January 2013
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Bien qu'amateur des romans de Henry James, celui-ci ne m'a pas beaucoup plu. Cette petite fille très intelligente et sensible, ne semble pas réelle. Les circonstances dans lesquelles elle se trouve plongée sont exagérées. Le texte m'a semblé lourd et souvent difficile à comprendre. Cela étant le talent de l'auteur est tel que l'on en s'ennuie pas et que je n'ai pas eu envie de fermer le livre. Mais ce n'est sûrement pas par ce roman qu'il faut aborder Henry James.
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Martin Jones
3.0 out of 5 stars It is undoubtedly a work of art, but hardly one which we wish to hang on your walls
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 January 2021
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What Maisie Knew is a 1897 novel by Henry James, about a young girl, tossed around between two parties in a vengeful divorce. They fight over custody of Maisie, and fight just as hard when each parent thinks they are being expected to spend too much time with the child. Then there is a sub plot of nannies and guardians who themselves have affairs with each vile parent, and with each other, and fight over Maisie!

This plot sounds like a kind of nineteenth century version of Dynasty. The tone of the writing, however, is more nineteenth century literary fiction. The story is told from the point of view of Maisie, who is both confused by the machinations of adults, and able see through the self-serving fictions adults cook up to make themselves look good. We see events through Maisie’s eyes, but rather than the narrative voice remaining with her, we hear instead the tone of a world-weary, adult with literary pretensions. So the viewpoint and the voice make for an odd mixture, a combination of the innocent, and the knowing, which is fitting for the book’s preoccupations.

This is a very artful book, reflecting on the contradictions of knowledge and deception, innocence and experience. As just a brief example - Maisie always sees the best in everybody, which is a lovely quality. But admirable though this quality is, it has the practical effect of making her believe in whoever she is with at any particular moment. Her guileless effort to be loyal to everyone, can also have the appearance of flighty disloyalty.

A number of reviews of the book are included at the end of the Penguin edition. One from the Manchester Guardian of 1897, concludes by saying:

“It is undoubtedly a work of art, but hardly one which we wish to hang on your walls.”

I think this sums it up. What Maisie Knew is a very clever book, but is by no means an easy and relaxing read. The world of childhood only comes to us through the voice of an adult, who loves his long sentences and even longer paragraphs. This is a children’s book for the sort of adult who is willing to suffer for their literary rewards
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Jessica Witte
4.0 out of 5 stars Victorian Literature
Reviewed in the United States on 14 February 2011
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Not a huge fan of Henry James. I have to read it for class. But the book came in perfect condition!
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