{"product_id":"the-portrait-of-a-lady-henry-james-9791043138393","title":"The Portrait of a Lady","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Portrait\u003c\/strong\u003e of a Lady is widely held to be the outstanding work of \u003cstrong\u003eHenry \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJames\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e's \"early\" period, and among the finest novels of his entire career.When the eccentric Mrs\u003cstrong\u003e. Touchett \"\u003c\/strong\u003etakes up\" her charming American niece, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIsabel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e Archer\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, and returns with her to England, her husband and son, the invalid \u003cstrong\u003eRalph\u003c\/strong\u003e, are first mystified, then bemused. Soon, however, they are smitten, as also is their aristocratic neighbor, Lord \u003cstrong\u003eWarburton\u003c\/strong\u003e. It is not long until a proposal of marriage comes from the English lord, but \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIsabel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is not so quickly conquered. Besides, she has left a rejected suitor back in Boston, an archetypal American industrial magnate, Caspar Goodwood.Through a surprising bequest in Mr\u003cstrong\u003e. Touchett\u003c\/strong\u003e's will, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIsabel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e becomes a wealthy heiress. As she travels with her aunt through Europe, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIsabel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e encounters several remarkable figures in the American émigré communities in which Mrs\u003cstrong\u003e. Touchett\u003c\/strong\u003e has her social circles. She also is led towards a third suitor in Florence, and this encounter proves decisive.The novel took shape as \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJames\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e travelled on the Continent, after having lived in London for some years. That sense of place and displacement suffuses the book, but it remains the backdrop to the main business of the story: the unfolding of relationships around the figure of \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIsabel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e Archer\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJames\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e explains in an illuminating preface how his heroine and her attendant characters took hold of him. His artistic vision was to display \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIsabel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e's character in \u003cem\u003eaction\u003c\/em\u003e, embedded in this web of relations.\u003cstrong\u003eThe Portrait\u003c\/strong\u003e of a Lady is one of the supreme examples of \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJames\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e's capacity to display how moral imagination and concrete \u003cem\u003eaction\u003c\/em\u003e emerge in character. But along with this, the novel explores the perception and persistence of love, dissects the psychological gradations between magnanimity and malice, and contrasts the energy and ambition of the new world with the allure and ennui of the old.\u003cstrong\u003eThis Standard Ebooks\u003c\/strong\u003e edition follows the \u003cstrong\u003eNew York\u003c\/strong\u003e edition, which incorporates the revisions \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJames\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e made to his text in \u003cstrong\u003e1908\u003c\/strong\u003e, almost thirty years after he first wrote it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Henry James\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9791043138393\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Les Prairies Numeriques\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/26\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 822\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.38lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.82d","brand":"Henry James","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48743145079039,"sku":"9791043138393","price":49.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-portrait-of-a-lady-henry-james-9791043138393","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}