Maisie, the optimist, finds a way

What Maisie Knew (1897) is as entertaining as any of the dozen James' novels I've read. The plot moves quickly and James's comment on late Victorian morals is engrossing. It is marvellous how Maissie stay sane and happy in such dissolution. And the end is a testament to the maturing child, who somehow makes sense of her world.

Unusually for James, What Maisie Knew held me from the very start, which is more than I can say for the somewhat later novel The Awkward Age (1899) that I'm very slowly reading. Still, I adore Henry James.