Daisy Miller

First published in 'Cornhill Magazine' between June and July 1878, and in book form the following year, this Henry James's short novel portrays the courtship of the beautiful young American woman Daisy Miller by Frederick Winterbourne, a sophisticated compatriot of her. Winterbourne's pursuit is hampered by his own presumption, which is frowned upon by other expatriates in Switzerland and Italy. This short novel serves both as a psychological description of a young woman's mind, and as an analysis of the traditional views of a society in which she is seen as a clear outsider. Henry James uses Daisy's story to analyse what he believes Europeans and Americans believe about each other, and, more generally, the prejudices common to any culture.