Audiobook · read by volunteers
Portrait of a Lady, Volume 1
Henry James (1843–1916)
Read by Clarica, Kirsten Ferreri, Martina, Dawn, Merryb, Betsie Bush, Lucy Burgoyne (1950-2014), eva, Lady Maria, Sage Tyrtle · 28 chapters · 12 h 28
About the book
Isabel Archer is a young American woman, lively, intelligent and fiercely attached to her independence. When an unexpected invitation takes her to England, she finds herself in a world of old houses, delicate conversations and admirers of every kind. She is determined to choose her own path, and she sincerely believes that she can. Henry James watches her with extraordinary attention, entering her thoughts, her hopes and her misjudgments, and surrounding her with a remarkable gallery of characters: generous, ironic, charming, and not all quite what they seem. This first volume of the novel introduces its heroine and sets in motion the choices that will define her. It is a book about freedom, about the price of independence, and about the gap between what we intend and what actually happens to us.
Introduction
Henry James (1843-1916) was born in New York and spent most of his adult life in Europe, becoming a British subject in 1915. The Portrait of a Lady, which many regard as his finest early novel, was published as a serial in 1880 and 1881, in The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillan's Magazine, and then as a book in 1881.
The novel is a study of a young woman determined to meet her destiny on her own terms. It follows Isabel Archer between America, England and Italy, and it is also a portrait of the meeting of the New World and the Old, a theme that James returned to throughout his career. What gives the book its lasting power is the closeness of its psychological observation. Much of the drama takes place in conversation and in the mind, and James is endlessly patient in showing how a decision comes to be made.
This recording is the first volume of the novel and is divided into twenty-eight sections, beginning with the author's preface, and lasts about twelve and a half hours. It is read by LibriVox volunteers. James's sentences are long and demanding on the page, but they often come into their own when heard aloud, with a rhythm and a dry humour that reward a slow, attentive listener. It is a fine introduction to one of the great novelists of the English language. Be prepared for a leisurely pace: the novel rewards attention rather than haste. Those who enjoy it will want to continue with the second volume, which carries Isabel's story onward, and in which the consequences of her early decisions slowly make themselves felt.
Public domain
Henry James died in 1916: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text