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The Portrait of a Lady (Oxford World's Classics) Paperback – June 15, 2009

by Henry James (Author), Roger Luckhurst (Editor)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 300 ratings
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Henry James is one of the giants of American literary history. From the novella "Daisy Miller" and classic short stories such as "The Turn of the Screw" to the popular short novel Washington Square and intricately woven and highly complex later novels such as The Golden Bowl and The Ambassadors, James's work is a required stop on any journey through our nation's artistic and cultural heritage.
An undisputed masterpiece, The Portrait of a Lady is arguably James's most popular work, and certainly the finest of his early novels. It focuses on Isabel Archer, a young, intelligent, and spirited American girl, determined to relish her first experience of Europe. She rejects two eligible suitors in her fervent commitment to liberty and independence, declaring that she will never marry. Thanks to the generosity of her devoted cousin Ralph, she is free to make her own choice about her destiny. Yet in the intoxicating worlds of Paris, Florence, and Rome, her fond illusions of self-reliance are twisted by the machinations of her friends and apparent allies. What had seemed to be a vista of infinite promise steadily closes around her and becomes instead a "house of suffocation."
Portrait of a Lady is at once a dramatic Victorian tale of betrayal and a wholly modern psychological study of a woman caught in a web of relations she only comes to understand too late. This new edition includes helpful notes on the numerous changes James made between the first edition and the revised New York Edition, reproduced here, an up-to-date bibliography, and a new chronology.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    640 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  4. Publication date
    June 15, 2009
  5. Reading age
    13 years and up
  6. Dimensions
    7.6 x 1.1 x 5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0199217947
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0199217946
  9. Lexile measure
    1020L
  10. See all details
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From the Publisher

oxford world's classics, literature, novels, myths, celebrated writing
oxford world's classics, OWC, features, leading scholars, literature

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Henry James's most popular novel--the masterpiece of his early style--now in a new edition

About the Author

Roger Luckhurst is Professor of Literature at Birkbeck College, London.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; New edition (June 15, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 640 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199217947
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199217946
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1020L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.6 x 1.1 x 5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 300 ratings

About the author

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Henry James

Henry James

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Henry James (1843-1916), the son of the religious philosopher Henry James Sr. and brother of the psychologist and philosopher William James, published many important novels including Daisy Miller, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, and The Ambassadors.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
300 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

James B. Armor Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars An English master at work
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2022
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Henry James uses his mastery of the English language to parse out intimate human nature and regret. Profound and memorable.
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C. Roderick
5.0 out of 5 stars one of the most stunning novels ever written
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2020
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If you adore fine writing, deep characterization, a story that does not offer up easy answers...and one that sets the tone for fine endings in a modern sensibility...read this novel...James sympathized with women and their dilemmas in a world that offered few options...and opens a window to the soul's yearnings for more....
7 people found this helpful
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JBeck
4.0 out of 5 stars Very Educational
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2014
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If you need a brain exercise, and wish to expand your knowledge of Victorian writers, this is a good book.
However, if you read on the level of a 8th or 9th grader, don't choose this book. It is typical of the era
in which it was written. I appreciated the glossary in the back to explain archaic words and phrases.
The story is about an American woman who is taken to England by an aunt after her parents are
deceased. She is blessed to receive a large sum of money that enables her to live "free," or she
so believes. She eventually learns differently. It doesn't end the way books of today would, but very
much typical of that time and era. It made me realize how much attitudes have changed in the past
100 years.
6 people found this helpful
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The Black Cat
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice edition.
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2018
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What a great novel! Start here if you're reading Henry James. Oxford uses the New York edition, which I prefer, and is good in the notes about signaling some of the more significant change that James made in his revisions.
5 people found this helpful
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NANCY E. CLUFF
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2020
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Fascinating characters in deep contrast to one another. A deeply kept secret. Love and hate. Ambition and ruthlessly using a young woman for personal gain.
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Edward V. Blanchard
5.0 out of 5 stars and of the development of her sensibility is truly a great, subtle and witty portrait of a lady
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2017
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To say this is a classic might condemn it is the eyes of some, but the portrait of Isabel Archer, and of the development of her sensibility is truly a great, subtle and witty portrait of a lady! Highly, highly recommended.
6 people found this helpful
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Dan Jeffrey
1.0 out of 5 stars Defective File!
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2021
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The book starts jumping to footnotes at about 50%. I was reading this on a Galaxy Note 10 with latest Kindle reader. Somewhere near 50% through the book, tapping to move to the next page took me to a footnote. Tapping again --> another footnote. Scrolling forward using the little scrollbar, I found some more regular text, but skipped unknonw number of pages in the process.

Most classic novels are available for free elsewhere. I purchased this so I could count on the quality of the digital conversion. Now I am out the money (too late for a refund) and have to find the book elsewhere. I'll probably forget it. I think Henry James is pretty boring. I assume that's why this error was not discivered before.
One person found this helpful
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Anne Murcek
5.0 out of 5 stars my favorite novel
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2016
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Henry James is one of my favorite authors partly because his settings (19th century well-to-do Europe and America) appeal to me and also because his writing is very sophisticated, often deliciously humorous and sometimes poignant.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Peter Henry
5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest English novel of the nineteenth century
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 30, 2021
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This is Henry James’ masterpiece. An exquisite story of a doomed marriage; the scene between Isabel and Ralph near the end is one of the very great scenes in all literature. I cannot recommend this novel too highly and the Oxford edition has a good introduction and helpful notes.
2 people found this helpful
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Lisa Edwards
5.0 out of 5 stars Free on the kindle
Reviewed in Canada on February 7, 2020
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Heard this book is really good
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Micazio
5.0 out of 5 stars Quelle belle écriture
Reviewed in France on August 3, 2019
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L anglais bien écrit de cette période. La tournure des phrases comme on les a appris à l ecole et non pas comme on les dit au quotidien. Quelle érudition.
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Dyane Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars Quick delivery
Reviewed in Canada on August 28, 2018
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Good
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Sean Gilligan
4.0 out of 5 stars Second time round, still puzzled and unsettled
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 7, 2016
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I've just finished reading this for the second time - this time for a university course - and the ending left me as puzzled and unsettled as it did the first time. Henry James is an almost unbearably elegant writer, and I wonder, perhaps uncharitably, if his portrait of the crushing of spirited Isabel Archer by the death-dealing Gilbert Osmond and his embittered eminence grise, Madame Merle, is rooted in too close an acquaintance with the stultifying consequences of placing an inordinate importance on good taste and an over-reliance on the approval of others. God, I was willing her to marry Ralph Touchett, or perhaps Lord Warburton - even the oafish Caspar Goodwood would have been better than Osmond. But to go back to him - for Heaven's sake, girl, what are you THINKING? I wonder if anybody has attempted a sequel to this beautiful, disturbing masterpiece, where our heroine finally gets her revenge, perhaps by oh-so-elegantly murdering the little weasel by poisoning his claret and framing her nemesis before rescuing Pansy from the convent and running off to Boston to start a women's publishing house with Henrietta Stackpole. Mmm. . .appealing idea. . .
11 people found this helpful
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