The Portrait of a Lady

By Henry James,

Book cover of The Portrait of a Lady

Book description

When Isabel Archer, a young American woman with looks, wit, and imagination, arrives in Europe, she sees the world as "a place of brightness, of free expression, of irresistible action". She turns aside from suitors who offer her their wealth and devotion to follow her own path. But that wayā€¦

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked The Portrait of a Lady as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I have treasured Jamesā€™s work, having been deeply engrossed in the great trilogy of The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors, and The Golden Bowl.

At some point, it occurred to me that I hadnā€™t read the perhaps less celebrated The Portrait of a Lady, so I read it. It is by no means a lightweight pieceā€”the action sprawling, as it does over two continents and across two stages in the life of the eponymous lady, Isabel Archer.

After being brutally betrayed by false friends and advisors as a young woman, she finds redemption in herā€¦

I read this book for the third time in forty-some years. I wanted to read it again to refresh my sense of what makes a book great and to answer again the questions some people have about why this book is important.

I very much enjoyed following, once again, Isabel Archerā€™s trajectory of an intelligent woman who makes an unwise decision and follows through. I also enjoyed the characterizations of several of the other characters, set in their time and place. I wanted to read something to help me lift my subject in my next novel. 

If you love The Portrait of a Lady...

Ad

Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: ā€œAre his love songs closer to heaven than dying?ā€ Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard itā€¦

Want books like The Portrait of a Lady?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Portrait of a Lady.

Browse books like The Portrait of a Lady

Book cover of The Case for Women in Medieval Culture
Book cover of Medieval Women
Book cover of Furta Sacra: Thefts of Relics in the Central Middle Ages

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

2,008

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

šŸ“š If you like The Portrait of a Lady, you might also like...

Book cover of Let Evening Come

Let Evening Come by Yvonne Osborne,

After her mother is killed in a rare Northern Michigan tornado, Sadie Wixom is left with only her father and grandfather to guide her through young adulthood. Miles away in western Saskatchewan, Stefan Montegrand and his Indigenous family are displaced from their land by multinational energy companies. They are takenā€¦

Book cover of Lines

Lines by Sung J. Woo,

On a foggy morning in New York City, a man and a woman run into each other, literally. The man, a writer, invites the woman, an artist, for coffee. They married just two months later. And four years later, their marriage is crumbling. On a foggy morning in New Yorkā€¦

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Europe, New York City, and the Middle Ages?

Europe 962 books
New York City 1,169 books
The Middle Ages 435 books