Is it a true story, factual story or both? Why? If Mary Ann is meant to be a representational character, who would she represent? Why?

This is primarily a piece of fiction however most writers draw on inspiration from their own experiences when writing a novel. The novel reflects James's preoccupation in this period with writing about Americans traveling abroad, a theme shared with slightly later works such as Daisy Miller and The Portrait of a Lady. While James is interested in exploring cultural and moral divisions between the Old World and the New, he also intended the novel as a partial defense of the American mode of life, being inspired to produce a rebuttal to a play by Alexandre Dumas called "L'Etrangere," which gave a negative depiction of Americans. Please submit each of your questions one at a time.