Daisy Miller

First appearing in the Cornhill Magazine in 1878 and published book form a year later, Daisy Miller is a novella that follows the fortunes of the eponymous character as she manoeuvres around the courtship of Frederick Winterbourne, while acting flirtatiously with a young Italian. Winterbourne is advised against this pursuit on the grounds that Miller is hardly marriageable material considering her nature, but he continues with his courtship regardless. The resolution, when it arrives, turns the story from romance into tragedy. Daisy Miller follows familiar themes for James, notably the strong, outgoing female lead as an American abroad, contrasting with a more staid male harbouring differing opinions about the old world. The other notable aspect is the familiarity between Miller and Minny Temple, a strong spirited woman James knew before her death from Tuberculosis.