The Portrait of a Lady

By Henry James

The Portrait of a Lady - Henry James
  • Release Date: 1880-01-01
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 188 Ratings

Description

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.

Reviews

  • A portrait of a Lady

    4
    By AJG Rendral
    I liked it very much, however, it did frustrate me not to know with whom she may have married of the characters if any. Darn!
  • The Portrait of a Lady

    1
    By SWDIII
    This edition is incomplete. It ends at chapter 27 , about two-thirds of the way through and leaves you dangling. Horrors!
  • There's a volume 2???

    3
    By Rush61
    I thought I would never finish this book. It moves like a slug swimming in jello, and Henry James rivals Dickens for long-boring-wordy-run-on sentences (such as this one). Seriously when one sentence takes up seven lines on a full page on an iPad I'm feeling my subconscious screaming "shut up and get to the point already!" I prefer Dickens at any rate. Not sure I can drag my brain through another volume of the brilliance that is (supposedly) Isabel, the snappy Harriet, Lord Wimp-Whiny Walburton and the ummmm..deep? Osmond. Best character in the story is Mrs. Touchett who lets nothing bother her and can think for herself without a multitude of what ifs to stall her. Madame Merle makes me suspicious of her motives. She's not trustworthy, and I wish she had a smaller part in this novel, since she's mostly annoying. Maybe in volume 2 I'll find out just what she's really up to. Just don't know if I can take all the boredom to find out.
  • A good one in the typical James fashion.

    4
    By Cwrj
    J Newall
  • The most accessible James

    5
    By DCJon
    James's flawless tale of American innocence undone by European worldliness remains a cracking good read. The worldly Madame Merle is suitably punished for her manipulation of Isabel Archer.