Showing results for "Henry Miller" in Romance

When Frederick, an American expatriate traveling in Europe, meets the commonplace, newly rich Miller family from New York, he is charmed by the daughter, Daisy, and her "inscrutable combination of audacity and innocence". The Millers have no perception of the complex code that underlies behavior in European society, and Winterbourne is astonished at the girl's unworldliness and her mother's unconcern when Daisy accompanies him to the Castle of Chillon.

Daisy Miller is one of Henry James' shorter and earlier novels. It was written in 1878. It portrays the confused courtship of a headstrong American girl by Winterbourne, a compatriot of hers who is much more sophisticated. His pursuit of her is hampered by her own flirtatiousness, which is frowned upon by the other expatriates they meet in Switzerland and Italy.

Daisy Miller is a beautiful and flirtatious rich young American visiting a Swiss spa. There she meets upper class expatriate American, Frederick Winterbourne, who is warned about her reckless ways with men by his aunt. Their relationship and Daisy's with the Italian lawyer Mr. Giovanelli leads to a climactic scene in the Coliseum in Rome, followed by tragedy and regret.

Daisy Miller is one of James' most haunting characters. In this reading, Mullen brings her to life in all her innocent playfulness and melancholic yearning.

Henry James' signature theme - the American abroad - centers here on a chatterbox, provincial (not to say ignorant) daughter of a wealthy Schenectady industrialist, as she travels through Europe with her doting, vapid mother and rambunctious young brother. She meets up with one Mr. Winterbourne, another ex-patriate, with whom she flirts before coming to a sad end.

The innocent and insolent Daisy confronts the traditions of old Europe and confounds all of the people (especially the men) who surround her. All throughout the story, there are classic Jamesian views on the differences between English and American societies.