The Princess Casamassima (Volume 2 of 2)

"The Princess Casamassima (Volume 2 of 2)" by Henry James is a novel written in the late 19th century. The story follows Hyacinth Robinson, a young man of humble origins who becomes entwined in the fascinating yet complex social world of the titular Princess Casamassima. As he navigates this unfamiliar milieu of aristocracy and political intrigue, the book explores themes of class, identity, and revolutionary fervor. The opening of the narrative finds Hyacinth waking early in a grand country house, having arrived as a guest of the Princess. It vividly describes his astonishment at the beauty and serenity surrounding him and sets the stage for his internal reflections on class distinctions and his newfound connection with the Princess. Throughout this portion, we see his excitement about exploring the opulent life that contrasts sharply with his own working-class background. The stage is set for an evolving relationship between Hyacinth and the Princess, interspersed with Hyacinth's connections to revolutionary ideas and the implications of his lower-class origins in this elegant setting. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Henry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.