What Maisie Knew

by James, Henry; Theroux, Paul; Crick, Patricia

• ISBN13: 9780140432480
• ISBN10: 0140432485
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1986-01-07
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

What Maisie Knew (1897) represents one of James's finest reflections on the rites of passage from wonder to knowledge, and the question of their finality. The child of violently divorced parents, Maisie Farange opens her eyes on a distinctly modern world. Mothers and fathers keep changing their partners and names, while she herself becomes the pretext for all sorts of adult sexual intrigue. In this classic tale of the death of childhood, there is a savage comedy that owes much to Dickens. But for his portrayal of the child's capacity for intelligent wonder', James summons all the subtlety he devotes elsewhere to his most celebrated adult protagonists. Neglected and exploited by everyone around her, Maisie inspires James to dwell with extraordinary acuteness on the things that may pass between adult and child. In addition to a new introduction, this edition of the novel offers particularly detailed notes, bibliography, and a list of variant readings.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vi
Introduction	p. vii
Note on the Text	p. xxvii
Further Reading	p. xxx
Chronology of Henry James Compiled by Leon Edel	p. xxxiv
Preface	p. 3
	p. 18
	p. 22
	p. 26
	p. 29
	p. 33
	p. 38
	p. 44
	p. 51
	p. 61
	p. 69
	p. 76
	p. 85
	p. 94
	p. 102
	p. 111
	p. 119
	p. 128
	p. 136
	p. 145
	p. 156
	p. 170
	p. 180
	p. 187
	p. 195
	p. 205
	p. 214
	p. 223
	p. 229
	p. 237
	p. 247
	p. 259
Explanatory Notes	p. 276
ariant Readings	p. 286
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.