Audiobook · read by volunteers
Daisy Miller: A Study in Two Parts
Henry James (1843–1916)
Read by Gesine, Miranda Stinson, Micah, Cori Samuel, Lucy Burgoyne (1950-2014) · 6 chapters · 2 h 15
About the book
Winterbourne is an American who has lived for years in Europe and thinks he understands how the world works. Then, at a Swiss lakeside resort, he meets Daisy Miller, a young woman from New York who is pretty, frank and entirely unwilling to follow the rules that govern polite society abroad. She goes out with gentlemen unchaperoned, speaks her mind and seems not to notice the disapproving looks of the other Americans around her. Winterbourne is fascinated, and also confused: is she innocent, or simply careless of her reputation? Henry James turns this small question into a sharp, elegant study of social judgement, and the story moves from Switzerland to Rome with a feeling of mounting unease. Short, famous and quietly devastating, it rewards every listener. It is a miniature masterpiece of manners and misunderstanding.
Introduction
Henry James (1843–1916) was an American-born novelist who spent most of his adult life in Europe. Daisy Miller appeared in 1878 and made him famous on both sides of the Atlantic; it was widely discussed, with some readers defending its heroine and others finding her shocking. The novella explores the meeting of American freedom and European convention, a subject to which James returned throughout his career.
The text is divided into two parts, recorded here in six sections. Winterbourne’s point of view dominates, so we see Daisy mainly through a man who cannot quite decide how to read her. That uncertainty is part of the design: James invites us to examine our own assumptions about what is proper and what is merely conventional. The writing is elegant but accessible, and at roughly two hours the story can be enjoyed in a single evening. It makes a fine first encounter with James.
Nothing here is loud or sensational, and the force of the story lies in what is left unsaid. James had a gift for making social situations tense, and the final chapters leave much to think about. The short length makes the book an ideal introduction to his work, and the dialogue sounds natural when read aloud.
Six recordings, about 2.3 hours in all, are read by LibriVox volunteers. The story is short enough to hear in one sitting, but it also divides well: Switzerland first, then Rome, with time between to decide what you make of Daisy and of the people who judge her. The subtitle, A Study in Two Parts, describes the plan: first the acquaintance on the Swiss lake, then the Roman season in which the consequences gather.
Public domain
Henry James died in 1916: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text