Henry James

What Maisie Knew Annotated Henry James

What Maisie Knew After her parents' unpleasant divorce, young Maisie finds herself turned into a 'little feathery shuttlecock' to be swiped back and forth by her selfish mother, Ida, and her vain father, Beale, who value her only as a means of frustrating one another. And when both take lovers and remarry, Maisie-solitary, vigilant and wise beyond her years- is drawn into an entangled adult world of conspiracy and sexual betrayal, until she is finally compelled to choose her own future. Story plotted 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.