What Maisie Knew Introduction

In which the protracted legal contest over the custody of little Maisie concludes with a most unorthodox arrangement—her time divided equally between her quarrelsome parents, whose mutual antagonism leaves the child's well-being precariously balanced. Meanwhile, society's gaze, sharpened by gossip and scandal, observes the tangled fortunes and appearances of the Farange family, none better or worse than the other, but all enveloped in an atmosphere of bitterness and strained civility.