This was my introduction to Henry James and certainly the beginning of a long relationship. The balance of ornate prose, confident narrative structure, and lovely empathy for his characters makes this one of the best pieces of fiction I have ever read. The plot is important, and it drives the work from beginning to end but what is so extraordinary is that it hinges of the reader's empathy to convey its point. On the surface, it could be told as a vaguely mean story about a young man duped, but compounded with James' grace the story lifts off into a serious meditation on the power discourse underlying celebrity, pedagogy, and the creation of art under capitalist conditions. There is so much to say about this expert piece of fiction (and so much of it lofty) yet the experience of reading was as thrilling as ever.

I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend this to anyone, especially if you haven't read anything by Henry James. I'm utterly floored.