The Princess Casamassima (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Henry James
- First Published: 1885
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: Late nineteenth century
- Setting: London
- Principal Characters: Hyacinth Robinson, Miss Amanda Pynsent, Princess Casamassima, Anastasius Vetch, Paul Muniment, Lady Aurora Langrish, Millicent Henning
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: Class conflict, Revolutionaries, France or French people, Suicide, Nineteenth century, England or English people, Illegitimacy, London, Nobility, Princes or princesses
- Locales: London, England
The Story:
Florentine Vivier, a French dressmaker, gave birth to an illegitimate son and accused an Englishman, Lord Frederick Purvis, of being the boy’s father. When Lord Frederick and his family refused to recognize the baby, Florentine Vivier stabbed Lord Frederick to death, a crime for which she received the maximum prison sentence; she entrusted her son, whom she called Hyacinth Robinson, to Miss Amanda Pynsent, a poor dressmaker, who raised the boy without telling him the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his birth.
Years later, Mrs. Bowerbank, a prison...
[The entire page is 2199 words long]
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