What Maisie Knew in Around the World in 80 Books

Apr 01, 2011 Steve rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

Years ago, I read somewhere, perhaps in Graves' Goodbye to All of That, or a biography on Ford Madox Ford, where it was recorded (a tricky word if it's Graves) that Ford, while out in the trenches, read and greatly admired Henry James' What Maisie Knew. What stuck in my mind was the fact that Ford (as I remember it) thought it a great treatment of evil and children. Ford, a quirky but fine critic, could be a critical bear when it came to James, so the fact that he singled this novel out for prai Years ago, I read somewhere, perhaps in Graves' Goodbye to All of That, or a biography on Ford Madox Ford, where it was recorded (a tricky word if it's Graves) that Ford, while out in the trenches, read and greatly admired Henry James' What Maisie Knew. What stuck in my mind was the fact that Ford (as I remember it) thought it a great treatment of evil and children. Ford, a quirky but fine critic, could be a critical bear when it came to James, so the fact that he singled this novel out for praise certainly raised a hopeful flag for me. Up to that time, I just assumed that Evil and Children and James = The Turn of the Screw. That's still true, but the fact is that it's Evil with (in my opinion) a supernatural element. Maisie has nothing that goes bump in the night (unless it's one of the incredible parade of adulterous adults), but it's bleak picture of human corruption goes into more identifiable areas of darkness than the famous ghost story.

As the novel opens, Beale and Ida Farange are getting divorced. It's been a nasty affair, and floating between them is their only child, Maisie. Neither parent really wants her, and I believe she's between four and six years of age at the time. What follows is the passing back and forth between the parents of the child. She becomes a pawn for the eventual step parents, the new Mrs. Beale and the new Mr. Ida (Sir Claude) as well as the old fuddy dud governess, Mrs. Wix (who herself has a silly crush on Sir Claude). At the start this is somewhat comical, but in the back of your mind you keep asking yourself, What about the child? And it's good to keep asking yourself that question, because it provides a sure anchor just in case you're losing count of the adulteries. In the last quarter of the book, things take a much darker turn. The original Beale is off to America with an ugly rich woman, and Ida, Mama, is batty as hell. Masks are dropped, sex is in the air, and there is a rather long and amazing confrontation at the end that has the gravity of a theological debate. This isn't boring, I assure you. Maisie, who to my mind is somewhere around 11 to 13 at this point (and there is some debate about her age), has, unlike so many Dickens heroes, been corrupted to some extent by all that she has had to live through. (How could she not?) The one good figure, Mrs. Wix (and she herself is a mixed bag), argues strongly for the "moral sense," and it's need to be maintained. (And she is sincere.) Maisie's cruelty, just now starting to show itself, will surprise you. What will be her choice? The end is ambiguous, but powerful. This novel invites a number of different interpretations, and would probably be a great candidate for a book club reading.

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Mar 27, 2011 MichelleCH rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction, 1001, own

So timeless. I felt like Massie could be almost any child of selfish divorced parents in any era of history. She is too wise and knowledgeable of adult relationships for her age and because of this some of James' writing is uncomfortable. This novel also proves that money and social status are no barrier to bad parenting.
The story begins when Massie is rather young (perhaps around age five or so) and lasts for many years as she is shuffled from household to household. During this time span her b ...more

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Feb 16, 2021 Tanya rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: format-audiobook, 2021, list-1001-btrbyd

Sad; I hadn't really thought about divorce and its impact on kids prior to the 1970s. It's not like I knew it didn't happen, but I just didn't think about it for generations earlier than that and it's likely due to the film, Kramer vs Kramer. It was uncomfortable to read the manipulations by the adults. I would not have picked this up if it were not on the list of 1001 books to read before you die. I waver between 2 and 3 stars, but rounding up since this book has longevity and can really make o ...more

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