Daisy Miller
by Henry James · first published 1877
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2HN commenters
2017–2018first – last mentioned
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A beautiful American girl, Daisy Miller, is pursued by the sophisticated Winterbourne, who moves in fairly conservative circles. Their courtship is frowned upon by the other Americans they meet in Switzerland and Italy because Daisy is too vivacious and flirtatious and neither belongs to, nor follows the rules of, their society. The novella is a comment on American and European attitudes towards each other and on social and cultural prejudice.
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…the history of that conceit, but possibly The Turn of the Screw is famous more for its novelty than for being particularly good per se. I kept reading him, though, and loved Washington Square. Hated Daisy Miller. The Aspern Papers was fun if not really very good. I'd started reading The Liar and it was very promising, but one of my kids ruined my copy before I finished and I haven't gone back to it yet. TL;DR…
on “Novels were never the same after Henry James” ↗I read Daisy Miller and Portrait of a Lady, kind've the same book if you ask me. The ending of Portrait is unsatisfying and meant to be. Does she go back to Osmond? But like Blade Runner, there are two edits: One ends with…
on “Novels were never the same after Henry James” ↗…Probably better to approach shorter novella-ish works like that, and his actual short stories (there are lots) first, and work your way up to the novels (there are also lots of those). Do not start with Daisy Miller. It's among his most famous and widely-read, but just don't.
on “William James and the philosophy of pragmatism” ↗