The Portrait of a Lady is Henry James’s classic novel featuring the strong and spirited Isabel Archer, the embodiment of women’s independence and strength.
The heroine of this powerful novel, often considered James’s greatest work, is the vivacious young American Isabel Archer. Blessed by nature and fortune, she journeys to Europe to seek the full realization of her potential—or in modern terms, “to find herself”—but what awaits her there may prove to be her undoing.
During her journey, wooers vie for her attentions, including an English aristocrat, a perfect American gentleman, and a sensitive expatriate. But it is only after the ingenue falls prey to the schemes of an infinitely sophisticated older woman that her life takes on its true form. With its brilliant interplay of tensions and characters, The Portrait of a Lady is a timeless and essential American novel.
With an Introduction by Regina Barreca
and an Afterword by Colm Tóibín
- ISBN10 0451530527
- ISBN13 9780451530523
- Publish Date 3 July 2007 (first published December 1947)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 20 February 2024
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Signet Classics
- Format Paperback (US Mass Market)
- Pages 640
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451530523