"Each reader will take something different from this amazing, labyrinthine, terrifying and often claustrophobic narrative. For me, the dominant theme very close to James's heart is the story of Maggie Verver's education, both literal and emotional, and her subtle resolution of an impossible and perhaps dreadful situation. At the end, Maggie has saved her marriage, and her father prepares to return to America, leaving his daughter older, wiser and (apparently) reconciled to her husband. American literature contains nothing else quite like The Golden Bowl."

-The Guardian