a dirty family secret, however, the tables are suddenly turned. But what should he do with upper hand? Despite being one of Henry James earliest works, `The American‘ (1877) flows more like a contemporary novel than his later work, mixing social comedy and melodrama to perfection.

Henry James (1843-1916) was an American author who already by his mid-20s was regarded as one of the most skilful short story writers of his time. Later he would write several classic novels including `Daisy Miller‘ (1878) and `The Portrait of a Lady‘ (1881). He spent much of his life in Europe and became and British citizen shortly before his death.