10 h 56 minAudiobook12 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does a child learn when the people meant to protect her use her to hurt each other?
Maisie Farange is about six when her parents divorce. Ida and Beale turn their daughter into a messenger, a weapon, and a burden. In Henry James's What Maisie Knew, new marriages bring new attachments, but no simple refuge. Maisie watches the adults quarrel and deceive, taking in more than they suspect and understanding less than she needs.
Around her stand two governesses: charming Miss Overmore and anxious, devoted Mrs Wix. Her young stepfather, Sir Claude, offers kindness, though his wish to please everyone leaves him weak. James stays close to Maisie's mind, letting you notice the gap between what she sees and what she can name. Affection becomes hard to separate from possession.
What you’ll discover
- A watchful child's mind See adult betrayals through Maisie's alert eyes, where small observations carry meanings she cannot yet name.
- Two kinds of care Meet governesses whose contrasting affections make the question of genuine care feel urgent.
- Kindness tangled with weakness Watch Sir Claude struggle between his affection for Maisie and his need to please.
- The uses of silence Follow Maisie as she learns that hiding her knowledge can help keep her safe.
- Love without ownership Consider what decency means when parents treat a child as something to claim or discard.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who enjoy close attention to motive and manners, and who like a story told through one mind. It also suits anyone moved by stories of children caught in a divorce. If you want fast plot, James's long, winding sentences may test you.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A court divides a child in two
- Two governesses, two kinds of care
- New marriages and a charming stepfather
- The child who carries the messages
- Parents who slip away from her
- Sir Claude and the second Mrs Beale
- What Maisie knows and what she cannot say
- Money, ownership and who has a claim
- How James tells it through a child's eyes
Who’s who
- Maisie FarangeA watchful little girl whose parents divorce. She learns to hide what she sees and slowly forms her own sense of right and wrong.
- Ida FarangeMaisie's mother, vain and quarrelsome, who uses her daughter to wound her former husband and then loses interest in her.
- Beale FarangeMaisie's father, a self-absorbed man who treats his daughter as a tool in his feud and a nuisance in his pleasures.
- Mrs WixMaisie's anxious, old-fashioned governess, poor and plain, who mourns her own dead daughter and loves Maisie with steady devotion.
- Miss OvermoreMaisie's young, charming governess, later the second Mrs Beale, whose warmth is real but whose motives are mixed.
- Sir ClaudeIda's young, kind and weak second husband, who befriends Maisie and wants everyone to like him.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 10 h 56 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 12 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: USD 0.14 a day, then USD 0.27 a day, never raised. Or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear What Maisie Knew in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
What Maisie Knew
by Henry James· 1897
A child tries to understand her parents' quarrels and betrayals.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A court divides a child in two
The novel opens with a divorce case. Ida and Beale Farange have been married for some years, and their quarrels have become public. The court grants the divorce and makes an unusual ruling about their daughter. Maisie will spend six months with her father and six months with her mother, in turn.
The ruling sounds fair on paper. In practice it turns the child into a thing passed back and forth. Neither parent wants her out of love so much as out of spite. Each sees in her a chance to hurt the other, and each is eager to prove the other unfit.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
Henry James
1843–1916 · American British novelist
Henry James was born in New York City in 1843. He settled in England in 1876 and became a British citizen in 1915. He wrote novels, stories, plays, and travel books. His works include Daisy Miller (1878), The Turn of the Screw (1898), and The Ambassadors (1903). He died in London in 1916.
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More by Henry James
All 20 books
Free
Free
More like this
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about What Maisie Knew
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is What Maisie Knew about?
It tells of a girl named Maisie whose parents divorce and use her as a weapon in their quarrels. She is moved between homes and caretakers, and learns to understand the adults around her.
Who is Mrs Wix in What Maisie Knew?
Mrs Wix is Maisie's governess, hired by her mother. She is older, plain and anxious, mourns her own dead daughter, and gives Maisie steady, unselfish care that contrasts with the parents.
When was What Maisie Knew written?
Henry James published it in 1897. It is a work of fiction, not a true story, but it draws on a real social problem, the treatment of children in divorces among fashionable families.
Popular in classics
See all
Free
Free
Free
