The tale of Daisy's irruption into staid European society enjoyed, as did Daisy herself, a succès de scandale; and it has remained one of Jamess most popular short stories. Like the others collected here--'Pandora, ' 'The Patagonia, ' and 'Four Meetings'-- it describes a confrontation between
different values in a changing world. Is the new independent American girl enchanting in her spontaneity, alarming in her unpredictability, or merely vulnerable in her ignorance of social codes? Hung about with make admirers who seek, uncertainly, to grasp the new phenomenon, Daisy marches on
undiscourageable, to her triumphant--or tragic--destiny.
This volume contains prefaces by Henry James, a chronology of his life, and editor's notes.