She presumed, however, so little on any introduction that, shyly and submissively, wait- ing for the word of direction, she stopped short in the centre of the general friendliness till Mrs Brookenham fairly became, to meet her, also a shy little girl - put out a timid hand with wonder-struck, innocent eyes that hesitated whether a kiss of greeting might be dared. As slight and white, as delicately lovely, as a gathered garden lily, her admirable training appeared to hold her out to them all as with precautionary finger-tips. That young lady, in this relation, was certainly a figure to have offered a foundation for the highest hopes. In The Awkward Age, James explores the English character, and the clash between old and new money with a light and subtly ironic touch to create a devastating critique of society and its machinations. Only an elderly bachelor, Mr Longdon, is immune to this world of scheming, and determines to rescue Nanda from its influences out of loyalty to the deep love he once felt for her grandmother. Thrust suddenly into the superficial circle that surrounds her mother, the innocent but independent-minded young woman even finds herself in competition with Mrs Brookenham for the affection of the man she admires.

Making her debut in London society, Nanda Brookenham is being groomed for the marriage market. The Awkward Age is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in Harper's Weekly in 1898-1899 and then as a book later in 1899.

The Awkward Age by Henry James