The Portrait of a Lady (AmazonClassics Edition)

This is truly a masterpiece of literature and was a pleasure to read and listen to as performed by Alicia Johnson. James was quite the loquacious writer and his command of the English language exceptional. As the story unfolded I was mesmerized by the descriptive way in which he brought out every nuance of his characters or minute details of the surroundings, be it the estate in England or Rome, Italy (the eternal city). The protagonist of the work is a young American, Isabel Archer, who being educated or accomplished wants so much more out of life than being someone’s wife, she longs to see the world, experience new things and a visit from an Aunt who resides in England but spends most of her time abroad is persuaded to accompany her. Isabel impresses her rich Uncle and his son with her independent nature and more than amuses them with their discourses, they conspire to make it possible for her dreams to come true. Even good intentions can go awry as Isabel will eventually come to know. The novel is rife with deceptions, and Isabel will have to make choices. I highly recommend this work and hope others will not be daunted by the length nor think that the author verbose.

The stories of Henry James can be obtained in a very great variety of editions, both printed and e-book, and at very low prices since most of them (perhaps all of them?) are now public domain and therefore no longer protected by copyright.

In fact, many can be obtained here on Amazon as free Kindle editions. I have personally had mixed experience with free (or very low priced) Kindle books, finding that at times they are poorly formatted, they may or may not include tables of contents and the ability to go directly to one chapter or another, and in some cases they have been made from scanned editions and contain errors in the text. They also generally omit any explanatory information on the author, publisher or copyright details (when first published, etc).

The Portrait of a Lady is considered to be Henry James’s most popular work of long fiction, as well as being viewed by most critics as one of his finest. It is available on Amazon for free and separated into two volumes:

The Portrait of a Lady – Volume 1

and

The Portrait of a Lady – Volume 2

, and in this case it does appear that those Kindle releases are satisfactorily done (scanning through the reviews here on Amazon to see what comments have been made regarding the Kindle edition) although I do not have them myself. Someone wanting to get this book should therefore consider those free releases as well, and as far as I can tell they will not be disappointed.

For myself I am generally very willing to pay a modest price for an edition that is well made and does have those features mentioned, and in particular to get an edition that is properly formatted for the Kindle and is free of text and editing errors. This edition is very inexpensively priced (it is selling for 99 cents here on Amazon as I write this review), and is very well produced for the Kindle. It includes Henry James own preface to the novel, and the complete text of the novel in two volumes. It does not include the glossary or notes frequently included in printed editions.

Also worth mentioning is that this novel, The Portrait of a Lady, exists in two different versions, both prepared by the author. The First Edition is as it appeared initially as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillan’s Magazine in 1880-81. The New York Edition, extensively revised by James, was released in 1908 and is the version presented here in this Kindle edition. (The free Kindle editions mentioned above also use the 1908 New York Edition).

For discussions regarding the story itself I would suggest taking a look at the many detailed reviews posted to this book elsewhere on Amazon, particularly the following listing which has the greatest number of reviews and would likely be most informative and helpful:

The Portrait of a Lady (Penguin Classics)

A high quality hardcover edition of this novel is included in the following Library of America volume:

Henry James : Novels 1881-1886: Washington Square, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians

(note however that it uses the original 1881 text and not the later 1908 revised text).

Those wishing for a more scholarly and complete treatment of the novel, with contemporary reviews of the novel, essays and critical analyses, and biographical information:

The Portrait of a Lady (Norton Critical Editions)

As a final comment, the publisher of this Kindle edition, Open Road Media, is doing an excellent job in releasing classic novels and stories in new editions that are professionally edited and adapted for the Kindle, all priced very affordably, and I think they deserve thanks for doing so. I have quite a few of their Kindle releases, and they are without exception very well done. If I find myself looking for a Kindle edition to a book, and I am presented with a variety of choices that includes a version from this company, I feel that I can select their edition with confidence.

From what I have gathered and read about, James spent an extensive time writing this novel (which is reasonable given it is nearly 800 pages in length) and its title signifies the idea of a lady affronting her destiny. The lady who is affronting such destiny here is our protagonist Isabel Archer, an American who comes to Europe via her aunt Lydia Touchett. In the novel, James spends extensive time zooming in and focusing on Isabel and her quests for independence and love.

There is definitely a complexity to James novel that I do appreciate, and certainly there contains within the fabric of the novel a realism that you might not get with novelists from this time period who wanted to romanticize the notions of love, romance, and marriage. Within The Portrait of a Lady there are also applicable themes such as examination of class, love, gender roles, contrasts between European and American values, and the costs of independence.

The basic premise is that Isabel, once abroad, is given several offers of marriage, which she quickly refuses because of her desire to remain independent and explore her options and curiosities. When she later comes into possession of a large sum of inheritance unexpectedly, she becomes the target of cruelties and manipulations that exist in society when an ex-patriot comes into her life.

While James writing is good, I felt like both the structure of the book itself and the characters were somewhat lacking overall. As far as the structure, it seems like the plot seems to plod along at a slow pace, and there is a repetitive feel to the many dialogues and character interactions that made it drag. There were too many characters talking in circles and speaking in riddle, and too many deceptions, mind games, or attempts to outmaneuver other characters. The novel itself is very dialogue heavy rather than description heavy, and I think this just stalls the narrative quite a bit because the characters were rather unremarkable for the most part. Also, it felt like it took the major event of the novel forever to happen, and then it was just explained away in a rather quick fashion soon after. Also, regarding the characters, there was a distant aspect to them that made it rather hard to be invested in their fates, one or another.

I did not mind the somewhat ambiguous ending of the novel either, and I think there are certainly ways to interpret what happens in different ways.

At the end of the day, though, I ended the book with a rather flat and unfulfilled feeling and was slightly befuddled by the high praise given this novel. Who knows? Maybe if I read this again sometime, maybe I would feel differently and pick up some things I missed. But, unlike this novel, lifes too short. I did read The Turn of the Screw years ago and enjoyed it much better than this one, so I am not going to throw in the towel on reading James in the future. But reading James is definitely an acquired taste.

So often 19th century literature tells us about beautiful, smart women whose main purpose in life is finding love and the perfect husband. Isabel is different. She thinks there is more to life than getting married, she doesn’t want to settle down before having explored what the world has to offer: “I don’t see what harm there is in my wishing not to tie myself. I don’t want to begin life by marrying. There are other things a woman can do.” How refreshing and modern for her time! Isabel’s cousin Ralph, who loves her without hope, is the only person who really understands and supports her. In fact, thanks to Ralph she becomes a rich heiress. Ralph wishes her to have the means to do everything she wants in life, to have choices, but unfortunately with wealth come deceitful false friends and fortune hunters…I admit there were moments in the book where I thought it heavy, especially the part where Osmond courts Isabel. I disliked him so much that I found it frustrating to see her fall into the trap. I am so glad I decided to continue until the end! The relationship between Isabel and Ralph is one of the most beautiful I have ever read about. At the end of the story you feel like you know these characters so well that it makes you think that all the words that you thought were superfluous and made the reading at times hard-going were exactly right and necessary for you to understand. The ending was at first disappointing, it was not what I had hoped for. At the same time it made me think and wonder for many days after reading the last page. This is one of the best books I’ve read recently and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

This novel has always done well, from its first serialized publication in two magazines and then its publication in book form in 1881, it has also been met with lots of critical acclaim. The basic storyline is relatively simple, Isabel Archer is brought from America to this country and then on to the Continent by her aunt. When she comes into some considerable money of course things get difficult. With Machiavellian manipulations this young free woman finds herself nothing of the sort, especially when she gets married.

I have read this story so many times, and indeed I don’t know how anyone could ever tire of it, but trying to explain what it is about to others is really difficult. The problem is that you don’t want to give too much away and spoil it for anyone reading it for the first time. What I have written in the above paragraph is of course very basic and there is a lot more to this novel than that. The characters, situations and reactions are what bring this to life, and the psychology of the characters. This is really a deeply psychological and existentialist novel that literally comes to life, as alas few books do. After you have read this you really know why James was known as ‘The Master’, and lets be honest this is the type of book that we all wished that we could have written. Of course James wrote a lot of very good books, but if he had only written this he would still be known today.

This deals with one of James’ pet themes, the clash between the New and Old World, and also there is a deep level of underlying sexuality here concerning Isabel Archer. This book will certainly stay in your mind and make you ponder about what is meant by freedom and duty/responsibility. This is really a must read book.

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