When an aristocratic but impoverished couple offers to model for an illustrator, he believes he has found the perfect subjects—refined, dignified, and unmistakably “the real thing.” Yet, as he struggles to capture their essence, he discovers that authenticity is not always suited to art. Meanwhile, his hired working-class models prove far more adaptable, forcing him to reconsider the nature of representation and creativity. The Real Thing is a short story by Henry James, originally published in 1892. HENRY JAMES [1843 -1916] was born in New York but emigrated to Europe early in life. He is one of the most important figures in Anglo-Saxon turn-of-the-century literature, with novels such as The American [1877] and the horror novel The Turn of the Screw [1898].