'I am convinced that we are living in a fool's paradise, that the ground is heaving under our feet.'


The Princess Casamassima (1886) is among the most important novels in Here, James turns from his transatlantic theme to the broader canvas of social fiction, investigating the new sense of modernity that would come to preoccupy his writing. Jamess most overtly political fiction and deepest engagement with the class system, The Princess Casamassima portrays a broad swathe of London life. The narrative follows the tragic career of a young bookbinder, Hyacinth Robinson, whose friendships lead him into the subterranean world of radical conspiracies and terrorism, especially his involvement with the captivating Princess Casamassima, an American who has married into the Italian aristocracy.

This edition includes the magisterial preface James later wrote for the New York Edition, where he spells out his plan for the book, the 'germ' from which it originated, and his idea of what the novel required both of its author and its readers. Along with a full set of explanatory notes, Gordon Hutner's introduction explores the novel's literary and social background.


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