The Portrait of a Lady » (Unabridged)

Henry James was a master at tracing the social boundaries of the Gilded Age -- between Old and New World, Europe and America, desire and convention, men and women. He brought an invaluably clear-eyed, and critical, sensibility to America's evolving cultural mores.

When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American is brought to Europe by her wealthy aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to enjoy the freedom that her fortune has opened up and to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors. It is only when she finds herself irresistibly drawn to the cultivated but worthless Gilbert Osmond that she discovers that wealth is a two-edged sword and that there is a price to be paid for independence. With its subtle delineation of American characters in a European setting, The Portrait of a Lady is one of the most accomplished and popular of Henry James's early novels.

Henry James (1843–1916) was born in New York and settled in Europe in 1875. He was a regular contributor of reviews, critical essays, and short stories to American periodicals. He is best known for The Turn of the Screw, The Portrait of a Lady and What Maisie Knew.

John Wood is a well known actor who...

I. The Portrait of a Lady II. The Cultural Matrix American Manners and European Travel Eliza Lavin, "Chaperons" Mrs. Annie P. White, "Traveling Manners" From "Good Form" in England Americans Abroad "Fast Travel and Fast Life," New York Times [untitled editorial], New York Times Samuel Williams "Some Americans Who Travel" Lucy H. Hooper, "American Women Abroad" "Americans Abroad," New York Times "American Beauty Abroad," New York Times I.M. "The American Colony in France" [Henry James] "Americans Abroad" The