num_pages: 275
description: After her parents' bitter divorce, young Maisie Farange finds herself turned into a 'little feathered shuttlecock' to be swatted back and forth by her selfish mother, Ida, and her vain father, Beale, who value her only as a means of provoking one another. And when both take lovers and remarry, Maisie-solitary, observant and wise beyond her years- is drawn into an entangled adult world of intrigue and sexual betrayal, until she is finally compelled to choose her own future. Published in 1897 when Henry James was becoming increasingly experimental with narrative technique and fascinated by the idea of the child's-eye view, What Maisie Knew is a subtle, intricate yet devastating portrayal of an innocent adrift in a corrupt society.
language: English
title: What Maisie Knew
titlecomplete: What Maisie Knew
characters: Maisie Farange, Miss Overmore, Sir Claude, Mrs. Wix, Ida Farange, Beale Farange
genres: Literature, American, British Literature, Classics, Literary Fiction, Novels, Victorian, 19th Century, Fiction, Classic Literature
ratings_count: 6385
places: London, England
publisher: Penguin Classics