Okay, I wanted to like this, you know, classic literature and all. I was intrigued by the story line, and the title character was engaging and sympathetic. It had all the right ingredients, but then Henry James went and mucked it all up by using so many damn words! Half the time I had to read passages three or four times in an ultimately-failed attempt to discern what the hell was going on. Ugh. Maybe this is more of a statement about my own intellectual level, but I was flummoxed by more of this writing than I expected I'd be. I got the gist of the story-- which was actually quite heartbreaking-- but the whole reading experience didn't flow smoothly for me, making this not an enjoyable read overall.