The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James
The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

The Portrait of a Lady

Author: Henry James

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon

Unabridged: 21 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/07/2008

Categories: Fiction, Classic

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

The Portrait of a Lady is the most stunning achievement of Henry James's early period—in the 1860s and '70s, when he was transforming himself from a talented young American into a resident of Europe, a citizen of the world, and one of the greatest novelists of modern times. A kind of delight at the success of this transformation informs this masterpiece.

When Isabel Archer, a young American woman with looks, wit, and imagination, arrives in Europe, she sees the world as "a place of brightness, of free expression, of irresistible action." She turns aside from suitors who offer her their wealth and devotion to follow her own path. But that way leads to disillusionment and a future as constricted as "a dark narrow alley with a dead wall at the end." In one of the most moving conclusions in modern fiction, Isabel makes her final choice.

About Henry James

American-born writer Henry James (1843–1916) authored 20 novels, 112 stories, 12 plays, and a number of literary criticisms.

James was born in New York City into a wealthy family. In his youth, James traveled back and forth between Europe and America. He studied with tutors in Geneva, London, Paris, Bologna, and Bonn. At the age of nineteen, he briefly attended Harvard Law School, but he was more interested in literature than law. James published his first short story, "A Tragedy of Errors," two years later and then devoted himself entirely to literature. In the late 1860s and early 1870s, he was a contributor to the Nation and Atlantic Monthly. His first novel, Watch and Ward, first appeared serially in the Atlantic.

After living in Paris, where he was a contributor to the New York Tribune, James moved to England. During his first years in Europe, James wrote novels that portrayed Americans living abroad. Between 1906 and 1910, he revised many of his tales and novels for the so-called New York edition of his complete works. Between 1913 and 1917, his three-volume autobiography-A Small Boy and Others, Notes of a Son and Brother, and The Middle Years (released posthumously)-was published. His last two novels, The Ivory Tower and The Sense of the Past, were left unfinished at his death.

Among James's masterpieces are Daisy Miller, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, and The Wings of the Dove. In addition, James considered his 1903 work The Ambassadors his most "perfect" work of art.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Glenn on December 11, 2021

10 Things I Love About Henry James’s The Portrait Of A Lady 1. Isabel Archer The “lady” in the title. Beautiful, young, headstrong and spirited, the American woman visits her wealthy relatives in England, rejects marriage proposals by two worthy suitors, inherits a fortune and then is manipulated into......more

Goodreads review by Paul on October 13, 2012

Ugh, ech, the elitism that breeds in readers! We think we're such nicey cosy bookworms and wouldn't harm a fly but we seethe, we do. Of course, readers of books just naturally look down on those who don't read at all. In fact they try not to think of those people (nine tenths of the human race I sup......more

Goodreads review by Natalia on October 17, 2007

Ugh. If I could describe this book in one word it would be "Laborious." If I were allowed more space, which apparently I am, I would go on to say that in addition to being deathly slow and horrifically boring it is also a little brilliant, a little impressive, and, if you have the patience to look fo......more

Goodreads review by Emily May on May 09, 2020

I'm not sure why it took Henry James 3x as many pages to tell a very similar story here to the one he told in Washington Square. Basically: give a woman her freedom and she will choose poorly.......more