The Portrait of a Lady

Credits and rights

Original writer

Henry James

Publisher of this edition

BoingyBooks Classics

Original publisher

Project Gutenberg

Adaptation credits

John Shoufler / BoingyBooks Classics — digital edition

Original source / edition

The Portrait of a Lady (1881)

License

Public Domain

License link

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

Rights and adaptation notice

This work is in the public domain. John Shoufler published this digital edition through BoingyBooks Classics. The original work remains public domain and may be copied, adapted, and shared.

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (1881)

Isabel Archer, a spirited young American woman, inherits a fortune and travels to Europe, where her independence and idealism are tested by the manipulations of the sinister Gilbert Osmond. James' masterpiece of psychological realism.

Historical Significance:
Serialized in The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillan's Magazine in 1880-81, The Portrait of a Lady established Henry James as the foremost American novelist of his generation. The novel's "international theme" — innocent Americans confronting the sophisticated corruption of European society — became James' signature. Isabel Archer's refusal to flee her terrible marriage, choosing moral duty over personal happiness, has been debated by readers for 140 years. T.S. Eliot called it "the most perfect of all James' novels." The 1996 Jane Campion film starred Nicole Kidman.

This public domain classic was originally published in 1881. Free to read and share.