What Maisie Knew

HENRY JAMESWith an Introduction and Notes by Pat RighelatoUniversity of ReadingThe child of parents who divorce, remarry and then embark on adulterous affairs, Maisie Farange survives by her intelligence and spirit. For all its sombre theme of childhood innocence exposed to a corrupted adult world. this novel is one of James's comic masterpieces The outrageous behaviour of the characters on the seedyfringes of the English upper class is conveyed with wit andrelish. The dual perspective of a sophisticated narratorrichly appreciative of the absurdities of the adult sexualmerry-go-round and the candid vision of Maisie. 'rebounding from one parent to another like a 'shuttlecocktogether create an 'associational magic' Strangely.unexpectedly, from so much that is tawdry, comes a taleof moral energy and subtlety. James's foresight was inunderstanding the modernity of his subject, which is evenmore relevant today in the twenty-first century.