The Portrait of a Lady, Volume 1

The Portrait of a Lady (2 volumes) #1

by Henry James

This classic large print title is printed in 16 point Tiresias font as recommended by the Royal National Institute for the Blind

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Literature, Historical Fiction, Novels, Ebooks

649 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1881

About the author

Henry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listening to the audiobook edition, narrated by Wanda McCaddon, has helped me but I still find Henry James' writing style not much to my taste. It isn't his verbosity, as I enjoy other verbose Victorian authors' books, and it isn't the subject matter, as I have found the film adaptations of James' books excellent. But somehow, reading his books sends me to drowsiness; the audiobook avoids this difficulty to a great extent.

[Chris Cangiano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is of the entirety of Henry James' Portrait of a Lady and not just Volume 1 of this particular edition. I made my decision to reconsider Henry James with some small bit of trepidation. I first read two James novellas in High School - Turn of the Screw and Daisy Miller - and found both to be over-written, long and on the whole tedious reads. Portrait of a Lady was even more imposing as it is a massive tome. However, I am now firmly convinced that I was just too young at the time to truly appreciate James' style. Portrait of a Lady is a beautifully written masterpiece. It delves into familiar thematic ground for James - the clash between Old World European mores and New World American sensibilities - but does so in a way that still seems fresh and alive today. The Lady in question is Isabel Archer. She travels first to England and then on to the Continent through the intersession of a beneficent Aunt. Bright, charming, independent, prideful, naive, Isabel is a towering creation and her journey from innocence to experience is a powerful achievement. A wonderful testament to the importance of individual freedom and a reminder that freedom often means a freedom to make the wrong choice and that a person of true honor accepts the consequences of their choices without excuse or equivocation. Definitely puts me in a frame of mind to revisit the prior James shorter works that I previously didn't appreciate (especially Turn of the Screw). Highly recommended.

[Victor Legault · Rating 5 out of 5]

"'What has he? An ugly brick house in Fortieth Street? Don't tell me that; I refuse to recognize that as an ideal.'

'I don't care anything about his house,' said Isabel.

'That's very crude of you. When you've lived as long as I you'll see that every human has his shell and that you must take the shell into account. By the shell I mean the whole enveloppe of circumstances. There's no such thing as an isolate man or woman: we're each of us made up of some cluster of appurtenances. What shall we call our "self"? Where does it begin? Where does it end? It overflows into everything that belongs to us - and then it flows back again. I know a large part of myself is in the clothes I choose to wear. I've a great respect for things! One's self - for other people - is one's expression of one's self: the books one reads, the company one keeps - these things are all expressive.'

This was very metaphysical; not more so, however, than several observations Madame Merle had already made. Isabel was fond of metaphysics, but was unable to accompany her friend into this bold analysis of the human personality.

'I don't agree with you. I think just the other way. I don't know whether I succeed in expressing myself, but I know that nothing else expresses me. Nothing that belongs to me is any measure of me; everything's on the contrary a limit, a barrier, and a perfectly arbitrary one. ...'"

[Ann T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Changed my rating to 4 stars after reading Volume 2.

This review is only on Volume 1 of The Portrait of a Lady. I am picking up Volume 2 tonight at the library. It is a delightful read, but oh so wordy, to make a point. Isabel Archer, a 23 yo young woman, comes from America to stay with her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin after her parents die. She has many acquaintances during her time in Europe, and so far two marriage proposals which she has turned down both. Madame Merle is playing matchmaker with a third gentlemen, in his 40's, who has a little girl, aged 15 yo. I am not sure where this story will turn and if she will marry anyone at this point. She is extremely independent and does not want to lose herself by marrying and becoming just a wife. She wants to continue to travel without obstacles and live her life to the fullest. Let's continue to Volume 2 and see what happens.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characterisation here is excellent, but the book moves slower than a wet week. I've finally finished the first volume and it appears that some sort of plot has actually developed - in both senses of the word. I'm interested to see what will happen, but I do wish it would happen a little faster.

[lola · Rating 2 out of 5]

well written but OMG so dreary and it drags on for sooo long for no reasonn. Could have been SO MUCH SHORTER. Literally I wasted 3 weeks on this and it made me hate reading istg it gave me the biggest reading slump ever.
Dnf 50%
2.5 stars

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book started well, I was intrigued by the various characters, particularly Isabel and Henrietta, and hopeful because of the way in which all the potential plot seeds were planted. This was a novel that had the potential to bear a lot of fruit.

I read this on the Kindle and even though it was clearly labelled Volume 1, I deluded myself into thinking that (as occasionally happens with free public domain downloads) it was mis-labelled. Surely it was the whole book, and even though we were meandering through very boring character development and almost no plot, I expected that at about the 75% complete mark, things would start moving again and bring this book to an a fruitful end.

Nope. We endured an extremely long drought and when we finished Volume 1, we had finally introduced all the characters of note. (I hope). There are even more seeds of plot planted and there are myriad story lines that could grow from all of this sowing.
And I don't care. I am so intensely bored I can not bring myself to read Volume 2.

[Kacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically I am logging these books as 2, rather than one because long novels SHOULD count as 2 books for the yearly reading challenge. I love long and beastly books.

So far Portrait of a Lady is shaping up to be just "meh" period literature. Fortunately I have a fondness for 19th century novels. I don't know how this will end, but I'm sensing that this will end up looking a lot like a Far From the Madding Crowd situation. Isabel will fall for Osmond who turns out to be something of a con artist. He will be her downfall, and she'll realize that a good man was waiting for her the whole time in Lord Warburton or her cousin Ralph. (Those English folk did like marrying their cousins.) I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised by a different outcome, as I continue to volume 2.

[Kilian Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry James is impervious to my praise or condemnation. This is a book that judges the reader, not the other way around. After reading the New Yorker article about Michael Gorra's examination of this book and listening to the audio version, I started reading. I was hooked from the beginning. Isabel Archer is one of the greatest women in literature. Having finished the first volume of this compelling story, I am looking forward to the second half with anticipation. A simultaneous reading of Gorra's Portrait of a Novel adds a level of enjoyment and understanding of the novel's place in James' life and works.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting if unbelievable sorry of a young American lady visiting with relatives in England, and traveling in Europe. It seems that she is so amazing that everyone who comes across her falls in love with her, but she doesn't accept their proposals. Her uncle does and leaves her quite a lot of money, so she has the means to be an independent woman, which is impressive for the period. I guess I will need to read part two sometime, to find out if she ends up accepting any of them.

[Emily Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

i had sworn off all henry james after suffering through the golden bowl, but this book is intensely better. maybe it's the actual plot that's interesting, because the golden bowl was not plot-driven. i also found out it was written as a rebuttal to austen's novels. this gave it a depth that made it more intense. that said, i'm not sure i get the ending, what was isobelle's choice?

[Sepide · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story started smoothly, you could easily connect with the main character, but somehow in the middle it got very boring as the main character continued doing the same stuff over and over and the book is very long.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I would dislike this movie because I have a vague memory of Nicole Kidman as Isabel Archer and Daniel Day Lewis as Osmond. I loved it. At times, I felt Henry James was writing of Isabel as myself, her opinion of her intelligence matching mine.

[Lew Fulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite simply one of the best books I've ever read. Beautiful characters living real lives (though admittedly upper crust ones). Isabel is someone you just want to be with and it is very sad when the book ends and she's gone from you :-(. I like most of James' books but this is a high point.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great books of all time. The insights into human nature transcend time and space. Yes, the sentences are long and challenge the reader to pay deep attention as the words flow. That is one of the great pleasures of reading!

[Podurham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am combing the classics. Great read, full of spice. Definitely a must read.

[Wendy]

I am shelving this book for a while. It is one I want to finish, but reading it has become a chore.

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful words, beautiful phrases, full of wisdom of another era.

[Adriana Hunea · Rating 5 out of 5]

O ador pe Isabela..ma regasesc in ea:) prin placerea de a cerceta lumea ca si ea.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[James Blanchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Portrait of a Lady

Liked it very much. Left me wanting a sequel. Guess it's too late since the author is deceased. Too bad.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite honestly, boring. Reading the old dialects and about the social rules of the era was tedious. Couldn't get into the story or care for any characters.

[Chris Pelzer]

Good.

Classic for a reason.
Still need to read part 2.
Getting ready to hiss at Gilbert Osmond and Madame Merle.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Atmospheric, gorgeously written. In total anticipation about what happens next...