Henry James was an American author who contributed greatly to literary realism in the 19th century. James eventually settled in England and his books often described Americans living in Europe. With classics such as Daisy Miller, The Turn of the Screw, and The Portrait of a Lady, James is still one of the most widely read authors today. What Maisie Knew is a novel about the child of a divorced couple who is to spend half the year with each of her bitter and manipulative parents.