Brought up in poverty, Hyacinth has nevertheless developed aesthetic tastes that heighten his awareness of the sordid misery around him. He is drawn into the secret world of revolutionary politics and, in a moment of fervour, makes a vow that he will assassinate a major political figure. Soon after this he meets the beautiful Princess Casamassima. Captivated by her world of wealth and nobility, art and beauty, Hyacinth loses faith in radicalism, 'the beastly cause. ' But tormented by his belief in honour, he must face an agonizing, and ultimately tragic, dilemma. A reviewer, an Actor in Los Angeles, August 19, 2002, Portrait of an artist as a failed terrorist#Henry James can be a difficult writer to read. This is because he demands utmost attention from the reader, which is perhaps a little unfair in this day & age. The Princess Casamassima, however is perhaps the most readable of his works. It is the story of Hyacinth Robinson, a poor/working class bookbinder nee illegitimate offspring of an English Noblemen & a French Prostitute circa towards the end of the nineteenth century London. It traces his relationship with an expatriate American woman estranged from her husband who is an Italian prince & the Anarchic revolutionaries in Europe that were gaining popularity at that time, especially with lower classes & the disfranchised. His discontentment with his station in life, alongwith passionate search for his place in the world propel him into extraordinary circumstances. I read this book after encountering a review by a professor in a local paper who had in the wake of the September 11 bombing, hastily replaced his usual Henry James entry in his Classics course with this novel. After having finished this book I feel passionate enough to announce, that I have to include it with my erstwhile collection of livres extraordinaires; Anna Karenina, Bleak House, The Star Rover, The Trial, Journey to the End of the Night, Laughter in the Dark etc. These are books that actually change your state of consciousness; i. E. Reading these books may be dangerous to your complacency about the state of the world. Be warned then, this is one of those books that may leave you a tormented soul, your mind like the waves of a stormy ocean. But then again perhaps it may be necessary to achieve such turbulence before the 'peace that passes all understanding'. And if Nirvana never comes then at least one lived to one's human capacity. But I digress, back to the Princess; if you want categorization then you could say that this is a Political Novel, A Love Story, A Study of the Human Condition but that would be less meaningful than to say that this an entertaining & yet disturbing novel. That this story is highly personal for James wherein the protagonist, Hyacinth, embodies the writer's innermost yearnings both conscious & unconscious lends it a certain authenticity which is rare & the remarkably sympathy displayed by the author towards every character, however lowly, is rarer still in Literature. Most remarkable, given James patrician background, is the realistic depiction of poor sans patronizing. One could very well read this novel in the context of recent terrorist events as an insightful study of what makes an otherwise sane young man take the aforementioned path. … It would not be to far-fetched to say that in his heart of heart, James too wanted to wanted to blow up a building. But he chooses to be an artist instead... .