The Real Thing and Other Tales

by Henry James

"The Real Thing and Other Tales" by Henry James is a collection published in 1893. The title story follows an unnamed illustrator who hires a down-on-their-luck aristocratic couple, the Monarchs, as models. Though they embody the perfect genteel type, they prove rigid and inflexible for his work. Meanwhile, two working-class subjects—an Italian man and an Englishwoman—prove far more adaptable. When a fellow artist warns that the Monarchs are damaging his art, the illustrator faces a difficult choice between authenticity and artistic success.