Henry James’s “What Maisie Knew” – book review

“Poor little monkey!” (…) the words were an epitaph for the tomb of Maisie’s childhood. She was abandoned to her fate. What was clear to any spectator was that the only link binding her to either parent was this lamentable fact of her being a ready vessel of bitterness, a deep little porcelain cup in which biting acids could be mixed. They had wanted her … Continue reading Henry James’s “What Maisie Knew” – book review

Thomas Paine “Common Sense” – book review

Attempting to review Thomas Paine’s Common Sense is somewhat absurd. After all, as a political pamphlet, it set itself one task above all: to persuade its readers and that aim it has unquestionably achieved. You cannot possibly read an account of the American Revolution which does not mention Thomas Paine. America’s independence seems now to be unquestionably common-sense. Yet it was fascinating to read Paine in … Continue reading Thomas Paine “Common Sense” – book review