In addition to his voluminous works of fiction he published articles and books of travel, biography, autobiography, and criticism, and wrote plays. Good novels, to James, show life in action and are, most importantly, interesting. James claimed that a text must first and foremost be realistic and contain a representation of life that is recognisable to its readers. James contributed significantly to literary criticism, particularly in his insistence that writers be allowed the greatest possible freedom in presenting their view of the world. His imaginative use of point of view, interior monologue and unreliable narrators brought a new depth to narrative fiction. His method of writing from a character's point of view allowed him to explore issues related to consciousness and perception, and his style in later works has been compared to impressionist painting. He is best known for a number of novels showing Americans encountering Europe and Europeans. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.

He is regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. Wix, her most reliable adult guardia Henry James, OM (15 April 1843 - 28 February 1916) was an American writer.

She leaves them and goes to stay with Mrs. In the book's long final section set in France, the older (probably teenaged) Maisie struggles to choose between them and Mrs Wix, and concludes that her new parents' relationship will likely end as her biological parents' did. Eventually, Maisie must decide if she wants to remain with Sir Claude and Mrs. Maisie's parents essentially abandon her and she becomes largely the responsibility of Sir Claude. Both Ida and Beale soon cheat on their spouses in turn, Claude and the new Mrs. Maisie gets a new governess: the frumpy, somewhat-ridiculous but devoted Mrs. Beale Farange marries Miss Overmore, Maisie's pretty governess, while Ida marries the likeable but weak Sir Claude. The parents are immoral and frivolous, and they use Maisie to intensify their hatred of each other. The book follows the title character from earliest childhood to precocious maturity When Beale and Ida Farange are divorced, the court decrees that their only child, the very young Maisie, will shuttle back and forth between them, spending six months of the year with each. It tells the story of the sensitive daughter of divorced, irresponsible parents. What Maisie Knew is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Chap-Book and (revised and abridged) in the New Review in 1897 and then as a book later that year.

Who wrote what maisie knew