52 in 52 Week 8: Daisy Miller by Henry James

 

Daisy Miller (1879) by Henry James.

From Wikipedia:

"Henry James (1843–1916) confronted the Old World-New World dilemma by writing directly about it. Although born in New York City, he spent most of his adult years in England. Many of his novels center on Americans who live in or travel to Europe. With its intricate, highly qualified sentences and dissection of emotional and psychological nuance, James's fiction can be daunting. Among his more accessible works are the novellas Daisy Miller, about an enchanting American girl in Europe, and The Turn of the Screw, an enigmatic ghost story."

I loved Portrait of a Lady by James. I didn't find that daunting but an amazing psychological portrait of an innocent lady and the evil around her.


This is in the realism genre. I do love how James writes, and it is more a cautionary tale with some boundaries of right and wrong which I didn't like in some of the other realistic/naturalistic novels I read this week. 


Again, the Portrait of a Lady, is a longer read. So, this is a way to get a little taste of Henry James to see if you like it enough to make a bigger investment! 


(I am happy to post my full analysis from Portrait of a Lady here too. One of these days, I will post all of my analyses of The Well-Educated Mind book list here, but that will be a MOMENTOUS task!)