Daisy Miller : A Study; An International Episode; Four Meetings

by Henry James

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original artwork and text.

390 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1878

About the author

Henry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."

Reviews

[Sally Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my favorite story. It does show a lot about class differences and gender norms. I do enjoy Daisy's determination to not let anyone mess with her but the ending seems to take and twist any good meanings I took from the story. Ugg.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for my American Literary History course, which I'm currently taking on-line.

The concepts of the story chiefly lies with the characters, Winterbourne and Daisy. They represent Americans in two different ways.
Daisy is a rich young woman, who tours Europe, but remains independent to herself and refuses to acknowledge the customs in Europe. Winterbourne is quite the opposite with European customs. Winterbourne represents Americans who seek to set the customs in America to that of old Europe.

What happens to Daisy is tragic, and both Daisy and Winterbourne are ambivalent towards each other. I found it rather ridiculous.