Book Description
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 determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors. She then finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gilbert Osmond, who, beneath his veneer of charm and cultivation, is cruelty itself. A story of intense poignancy, Isabel's tale of love and betrayal still resonates with modern audiences.
Customer Reviews:
hmm. .......2006-11-13
I like this book. Have to say though, I found it to be a tough read. I hestitate to say anything bad about it, because everyone else gave it 5 star reviews, so I feel like I must've missed the real magic in it. overall, it was ok. I never found the plot to be very well organized-it seemed like the author just kind of wrote whate came to mind and then went where it led rather than work from a definite plan. In fact, it never seems to have much of a plot at all, its really more of a psychological study of the nature of the characters. hence, it is not called the " The Adventures of a Lady." I also would have appreciated a little more dialogue to move to story along, as sometimes it does get rather heavy and dull. However, if you can overlook that, Henry James has a beautiful writing style, creates beautiful characters, and is a necessity on the bookshelf of any serious reader.
Remarks.......2006-10-09
Perhaps an alternate title for The Portrait of a Lady might be The Velvet Pit and the Silk Pendulum. It is a kind of blend of the sensibilities of Oscar Wilde at his "aesthetically" sunniest, and of Poe in the grimmest of his catacombs.
Probably the most striking feature of the book is what is usually called "style." In my view this is a misleading and inadequate term because it implies that style is something essentially separate from content, rather like suits of clothes that can be changed as fashion changes, with the inner content and substance remaining unaffected. But in a novel, there literally is no content without its creation through language, and the particular, artful, "signature" quality of that language, in all its specificity-paragraphs, sentences, phrases, individual words-literally forms, gives existence to, content.
And this signature style is at bottom nothing more than what could be called the state of consciousness of the author, of the storytelling subject generating the linguistic "world of objects"of the book. The exact language employed, and the images it forms, weaves a kind of virtual tapestry of the mind of the author. We are made, through reading, to "see" the world and events of the story ("objects") but what we consequently see is not the world of the novel, but that world only as filtered through, and created by, the consciousness of the author.
This is what is so distinctive in The Portrait of a Lady. Much of the novel takes place in Italy, with all of the "fine" artifacts and objects d'art on display there. But the mind of Henry James is itself a kind of Titian; consider, for example, the following passages:
A genteel young man trying to look fierce, but "who smelled more of heliotrope than of gunpowder." A young lady determined to improve her mind who sits with a book, "trudging across the sandy plain of German Thought."
The same young lady, introspectively contemplating her own habit of happy introspection, but who is not, perhaps, quite as wisely Socratic as she imagines: "Her nature had, in her conceit, a certain garden-like quality, a suggestion of perfume and murmuring boughs, of shady bowers and lengthening vistas, which made her feel that introspection was, after all, an exercise in the open air, and that a visit to the recesses of one's spirit was harmless when one returned from it with a lapful of roses."
And a Countess, mature in years if not in outlook, of dubious morality: "[This] lady had so mismanaged her improprieties that they had ceased to hang together at all-which was at the least what one asked of such matters-and had become the mere floating fragments of a wrecked renown, incommoding social circulation....[She was married] to an Italian nobleman who had perhaps given her some excuse for attempting to quench the consciousness of outrage. The Countess, however, had consoled herself outrageously, and the list of her excuses had now lost itself in the labyrinth of her adventures."
These sallies are not isolated flashes in the dark; the entire novel is made of various textures of language-of symbolic consciousness-resembling the above.
James has to some degree a reputation as a mere glider through drawing rooms, a cerebral houseguest of life who closely observes but never really lives. He "thinks" life; he does not really experience it. This idea is simply ludicrous. I know little of the circumstances of his life, but unless he be a God, it is simply impossible for the author of The Portrait of a Lady not to have lived, and lived deeply, and from that indispensable perspective comprehended all of the deep structures of human nature that are so truthfully on display here.
There is a scene in the novel in which character "A" makes a titanic appeal, a beautiful appeal, to character "B.." We had not before seen such as this from "A." His/Her entreaty arises from a place, a depth, in which "Nature" and human nature, merge and become one. It is a place of unique power. The rest of the novel follows inevitably from this scene (I am being deliberately obscure so as not to spoil the story). Only a real human being living a real human life could have written such a scene, with all it contains and implies. If this is not enough, Chapter 42 alone should serve. If this won't do, the totality of The Portrait of a Lady is an annihilating piece of evidence. Read the book!
And it is not just "deep stuff" that recommends the novel, but all manner of drama! You will encounter a lounge lizard who hangs out in his Louvre, a pimp who plays Schubert, a wind-up toy standing in for a daughter, and a spirited young lady who takes a trip to the taxidermist. Upon discovering that it is she who is the object of that worthy's attentions (a gentleman of exquisite sensibilities!), she naturally resists. Thus, in due course, she is deposited in the velvet pit. And the pendulum begins to swing.
Will she escape? The book ends in a manner that in many ways is reminiscent of Ibsen's Ghosts, and for similar reasons (form & theme, not content). Only Mrs. Alving is doomed, but Isabel? Well....
A masterpiece: timeless view into a lady's decision making.......2006-10-02
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James sketches the account of life and times of most memorable heroine Isabel Archer. Isabel leaves US and arrives in England with her Aunt. Her cousin, Ralph, who ails from tuberculosis takes active interest in her, and Henry James creates highly realistic and entertaining conversations, which shed light into the character and thoughts of both these characters and the uncle and the aunt. The story gets interesting with presence of two suitors, each highly successful in their respective country (US and UK). The dying uncle leaves his neice a fortune, and she finds herself independent enough to pursue her whims and life.
Her marriage to Gilbert Osmond, the events that lead to it and how Isabel comes of age is the reason why Portrait of a Lady is a must read novel for every person. After denying two apt and deserving suitors, Isabel ventures to make a tragic choice and the intricate interplay of her perception or rather lack of it with the circumstances and events makes novel a masterpiece. The strains between the Old Europe and New America, the idiosyncracies associated with each come to fore, both through Isabel's life and through that of her journalist friend's, Henrietta Stackpole's.
Be it plain Pansy, the perfectionist Madame Merle, the cold and practical Aunt, the socialite Countess Gemini, each woman, like Isabel, is portrayed in sufficent detail. The two suitors engage as character studies, while the cousin Ralph is the character that shall stay with me forever. Admirable even in adverse circumstances, he is for me besides Isabel, the greatest creation of Henry James.
The story could have become melodramatic, but that is highly understated. The dialogues could have filled it to make it like screenplay, but James supplies nice descriptions of both the physical world and that of what goes in Isabel's heart to make it substantial. The commentaries on love and marriage that are subtly built into the novel, and the picture of both US and Europe seem quite contemporary. For a novel written in 1881, it shows how acute the observations of the author were, as well as the fact that we, humans, live life with similar choices, mistakes and feelings irrespective of the age. The novel has enough element of suspense, and events unfold in unexpected ways, making each discovery a pleasant or unpleasant surprise.
Having read many bleak American novels, this Henry James novel allows one to see how a Jane Austen type entertainer can be generated with sufficient origanility by a masterful writer. I am spellbound by the analogies in many of the most memorable actresses, espicially in how they make their choices between men.
Four excerpts from novel shows one the essence of the book:
"Justice to a lovely being is after all a florid sort of sentiment."
"She had had a more wondrous vision of him, fed though charmed senses and oh such stirred fancy!- she had not read him right. A certain combination of features had touched her, and in them she had seen most striking of figures. That he was poor and lonely and yet that somehow he was noble- that was what had interested her and seemed to give her her opportunity. There had been an undefinable beauty about him - in his situation, in his mind, in his face. She had felt the same time that he was helpless and ineffectual, but the feeling had taken a form of tenderness which was very flower of respect."
"It was not till the first year of their life together, so admirably intimate at first, had closed she had taken the alarm. Then the shadows had begun to gather; it was as if Osmond delibrately, almost malignantly, had put the lights out one by one."
"How could anything be a pleasure to a woman who knew that she had thrown away her life?"
Life Is A Series Of Choices: The Trick Is To Make The Right Ones.......2006-08-15
In THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Henry James continues his fascination with taking Americans out of their vulgar and moneyed new world environment and placing them in a stuffy but cultured old world, a comparison of which sometimes leads the reader to think that James himself sometimes could not prefer one over the other. In this novel, the transplanted American is wealthy heiress Isabel Archer, a woman who early on is depicted as determined to see the world and experience its myriad flavors. The problem with this is that Isabel is both attracted to and repelled by those exotic flavors. She is described in terms that emphasize her virginity and general innocence of soul. When Isabel arrives in England she encounters three suitors, with each one representing one aspect of that which either entices her or annoys her.
The first suitor is Caspar Goodwood, an American who is described as wealthy, handsome, virile, and decent. He would indeed be a fine husband for Isabel, but for one factor. James often depicts Goodwood's appearance in terms that accentuate his virility. Whenever they embrace, James (perhaps leeringly) narrates that Isabel felt his male hardness press in. Goodwood simply cannot touch Isabel without that concommitant reaction which drives Isabel away.
The second suitor is Lord Warburton, a wealthy and titled Englishman who also proposes to Isabel. He is simply full of positive qualities that most women would find flattering, but for one which is hardly his fault. Isabel assumes that if they marry, she would simply merge into the unnoticed background that forms the ongoing basis of the life of the wife of a titled lord. So she rejects him as well.
The third suitor is Gilbert Osmond, an older American expatriate who charms Isabel into accepting his proposal, despite the many objections of every one of her social circle who complained that in every way Osmond was all the wrong man. So why did she choose him? To begin with, her acceptance was no hasty affair. She had known Osmond for years before marrying him. Since he was considerably older than she, she blithely assumed that he would not make the sexual demands that a younger Goodwood might make nor would he be likely to infringe on her personal freedoms of choice when it comes to travel, friends, or life style considerations. Further, Isabel's good friend, Madam Merle, is the only one who praises Osmond and is thus instrumental in assuring her acceptance.
After Isabel's marriage predictably begins to unravel, James uses irony to point out that even well-considered choices may go sour if one ignores the hard facts of reality. We find out that Madam Merle had had a child with Osmond and a match with a wealthy woman would ensure the support of that child. Further, when Isabel rejects the first two suitors she correctly had sized up her initial rejections but in hindsight, those qualities that she saw as fearful were only mildly so, and easily corrected. When Isabel accepts Osmond using her rationale that he would not restrict her life choices, she is woefully wrong. The climax of the novel occurs when, after a few years of marriage, she discovers that her ill cousin Ralph Touchett is dying and wishes to see her. Touchett earlier had given Isabel a vast fortune to make an already wealthy woman even more so, and now when she tells Osmond that she wishes to travel to be by Ralph's side at the end, Osmond proves to be the very quintessence of a Jamesian villain, one who asks for all but gives nothing in return. He refuses her permission by stating: "I think we should accept the consequences of our actions."
The ending of THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY is ambiguous. We do not know if Isabel will remain with Osmond. All that we know for sure is the ironic veracity of Osmond's closing words. Isabel has made her choices; now is the time to decide whether to honor their eminently foreseeable consequences. In PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Henry James says this as well as anyone else has.
A Novel Heavily Influenced By The Evolving Plot.......2006-07-14
I thank and acknowledge fellow reviewer Mary Whipple for steering me towards this novel on the amazon discussion board for reviewers. I had a read a few novels by James's and this is quite different from some of his other work.
This is a wonderful novel by Henry James, and I suspect that most will enjoy the novel. He has a good set of characters; there is a bit of magic in the opening chapters; and, as the reader settles in to plow through the 600 pages, there is a high level of anticipation of great things to follow. The story is what one might expect for the first half, but the second half is quite different from the norm and the story is unusual.
Without giving away the plot, there is a little bit of "Oh no, she is not going to do that!" in the story. Henry James has created a very attractive character in the heroine Isabel, a young American woman, along with her two friends Henrietta Stackpole - an American journalist - an Ralph Touchett who it seems is her benefactor. Without giving away the plot, those two characters seem realistic and enjoyable, even if the early chapters seem a bit far fetched for some readers. It is an interesting start and there is much to absorb. James's novel is dense; it is full of detail, well written, and entertaining. It is all that we might expect from James. And, the novel's story is set in interesting places in England and Europe.
But, the plot unfolds in a completely unpredictable matter and some will find it disappointing, or hard to swallow, or perhaps even off-beat. But that unpredictable plot dominates the second half of the novel. Isabel acts independently - which is okay - but she does things that most readers find difficult to accept. She makes choices that seem counter to her own happiness. Beyond saying that about the plot, you must read the novel to learn more.
Be prepared for a great read but in directions that one cannot possibly imagine before starting, and some will be disappointed with the way the book ends.
5 Stars.
Book Description
In 51 visually stunning, emotionally compelling portraits, acclaimed photographer Carol Ross presents a hopeful, heartwarming, and caring view of black fatherhood in the United States. In an era that pays little positive attention to black fathers, Ross's inspirational perspective on the relationships between black men and their children is vitally important—and long overdue.
Ross's richly textured duotone photographs reveal a group of devoted fathers whose common bond is their profound love for their children. For her subjects, Ross has selected men from all walks of life—college professors, filmmakers, technicians, construction workers, and corporate executives—along with well-known music executives, directors, entertainers, and actors, such as Antonio L. A. Reid, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Funk Master Flex, Doug E. Doug, and Melvin Van Peebles. Film star Samuel L. Jackson, photographed with his daughter, provides the book's foreword, and each portrait is accompanied by a poignant personal recollection by the father depicted.
Exquisitely designed, Pop: A Celebration of Black Fatherhood finally gives black men their own voice about their experience as fathers. Inspired by her own father, Ross's book is, in her words, “a round of applause, a bow, a `God bless you,'” to all those fathers who “take their children to that place where, one day, they can fly on their own.”
Customer Reviews:
A great book for fathers!.......2007-10-11
My brother-in-law had this book on his coffee table. He told me that his friend was in the book with his children. I read the book and liked what the fathers had to say. It was very positive and loving. I think every father should have a copy of this book to become inspired by these father's examples.
Dispels Myth that Black Men don't raise their children.......2007-05-24
Carol Ross has done her part with this work which is a valuable, necessary and fantastic contribution to American culture. The book showcases photos of many black fathers with their black or mixed-race children in their everyday existence...doing their part to raise their children. An added bonus: reading the compelling and sometimes gripping account from each father profiled explaining what being a dad means to them.
Book Description
Described by F. R. Leavis as one of the two most brilliant novels in the language, The Portrait of a Lady tells the story of Isabel Archer, young, American, and eager to embrace life, as she makes her choice from the suitors who court her. She is true to her principles, but at what
cost?
Customer Reviews:
"The real offense was her having a mind of her own at all.".......2005-02-17
When Isabel Archer, a bright and independent young American, makes her first trip to Europe in the company of her aunt, Mrs. Touchett, who lives outside of London in a 400-year-old estate, she discovers a totally different world, one which does not encourage her independent thinking or behavior and which is governed by rigid social codes. This contrast between American and European values, vividly dramatized here, is a consistent theme in James's novels, one based on his own experiences living in the US and England. In prose that is filled with rich observations about places, customs, and attitudes, James portrays Isabel's European coming-of-age, as she discovers that she must curb her intellect and independence if she is to fit into the social scheme in which she now finds herself.
Isabel Archer, one of James's most fully drawn characters, has postponed a marriage in America for a year of travel abroad, only to discover upon her precipitate and ill-considered marriage to an American living in Florence, that it is her need to be independent that makes her marriage a disaster. Gilbert Osmond, an American art collector living in Florence, marries Isabel for the fortune she has inherited from her uncle, treating her like an object d'art which he expects to remain "on the shelf." Madame Serena Merle, his long-time lover, is, like Osmond, an American whose venality and lack of scruples have been encouraged, if not developed, by the European milieu in which they live.
James packs more information into one paragraph than many writers do in an entire chapter. Distanced and formal, he presents psychologically realistic characters whose behavior is a direct outgrowth of their upbringing, with their conflicts resulting from the differences between their expectations and the reality of their changed settings. The subordinate characters, Ralph Touchett, Pansy Osmond, her suitor Edward Rosier, American journalist Henrietta Stackpole, Isabel's former suitor Caspar Stackpole, and Lord Warburton, whose love of Isabel leads him to court Pansy, are as fascinating psychologically and as much a product of their own upbringing as is Isabel.
As the setting moves from America to England, Paris, Florence, and Rome, James develops his themes, and as Isabel's life becomes more complex, her increasingly difficult and emotionally affecting choices about her life make her increasingly fascinating to the reader. James's trenchant observations about the relationship between individuals and society and about the effects of one's setting on one's behavior are enhanced by the elegance and density of his prose, making this a novel one must read slowly--and savor. Mary Whipple
A great classic novel!.......2001-11-09
I really enjoyed this book,. I read it a few years ago, and it really stuck with me. I would give it more stars if I could.
It is so very well written and interesting to read.
good book... bad movie.......2000-06-13
Well i read this book in college, and then saw the movie as my first date with the girl I'm gonna marry. This hardcoevr addition was perfect for hidding a ring.
Average customer rating:
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Amanda Tetrault: Phil & Me
Manufacturer: Trolley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 190456304X
Release Date: 2004-08-01 |
Book Description
Description: Phil & Me is a daughter's use of photography to try to understand her relationship with her father and the schizophrenia that has crippled him. Amanda's father, Philip Tetrault, is a poet who has lived with schizophrenia since he attended McGill University, in Montreal, at the age of 21. As a young man, Philip was suffused with promise, hailed by Leonard Cohen in 1986 as one of the best young poets in Canada--before he slipped into yet another schizophrenic void. These photographs cover six years of sporadic meetings between Amanda and her father. Throughout, Philip had been giving her scraps of paper and napkins with verses and lines scrawled on them: some are published here. Photo booth pictures that span the past 27 years form a visual narrative thread. Philip is now a part of the streets and the shadows of Montreal. The reality of his days--moving through the caf s and parks of the city, his habitual Mickey of vodka in hand, and his acquaintances of street kids, squirrels, crows and seagulls--haunt these photographs and his poems alike.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant.......2006-03-18
One of the most moving, powerful and poignant books on the subject of mental illness. Amanda Tetrault's photographs are stark and immensely evocative, and, juxtaposed with her father's simple, sometimes lyrical, sometimes jagged poetry, manage to provide an unsentimental and devastating insight into the effect that mental illness can have on a family. A must buy for many reasons - for the incredible photography, for the moving poetry, for the potent synergy between the two...
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful photography..........2006-02-28
This is a must have for anyone with an alternative family. We can't wait to share this book with our family & friends.
Very Interesting, Very Surprising.......2000-01-26
What I enjoyed about this book is that it covered not only the people like me (gay, male, plans to have children), but it also gave me an insight into some others who have very different lives but the same issues of "alternative-ness." It actually contained a few surprises and gave me some ideas about how a family could be built from things I'd never considered before.
fantastic.......1999-07-18
a look into the lives of different people. it makes one think that one in simular cercumstances is not alone.A infomative book that shows real people in real lives. well done!! It does need though, more family portrates of transgendered people. Im glad I waited over two monthes for this book.
A New Book from FAMILY DIVERSITY PROJECTS.......1999-06-14
"If an image is worth a thousand words, then Love Makes a Family, a book of photographs by Gigi Kaeser, edited by Peggy Gillespie, speaks for itself. The book's vivid black and white photographs and personal stories send a powerful message about diversity in America. Together, the images and text challenge heterosexual assumptions and stereotypes. With more than 40 family portraits and personal interviews, the book captures the essence and experiences of Lesbian, Gay, bisexual and transgender families of all kinds..." -Terrance Lee Pitts, Washington Blade
A New Book from FAMILY DIVERSITY PROJECTS.......1999-06-14
"If an image is worth a thousand words, then Love Makes a Family, a book of photographs by Gigi Kaeser, edited by Peggy Gillespie, speaks for itself. The book's vivid black and white photographs and personal stories send a powerful message about diversity in America. Together, the images and text challenge heterosexual assumptions and stereotypes. With more than 40 family portraits and personal interviews, the book captures the essence and experiences of Lesbian, Gay, bisexual and transgender families of all kinds..." -Terrance Lee Pitts, Washington Blade, June ll, 1999
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Daughters of Men: Portraits of African-American Women and Their Fathers
Rachel Vassel
Manufacturer: Amistad
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0061350354
Release Date: 2007-10-30 |
Book Description
From actress Sanaa Lathan to Georgia State Supreme Court chief justice Leah Ward Sears, many African-American women attribute much of their success to having a positive father figure
In Daughters of Men, author Rachel Vassel has compiled dozens of stunning photographs and compelling personal essays about African-American women and their fathers. Whether it's a father who mentors his daughter's artistic eye by taking her to cultural events or one who unwaveringly supports a risky career move, the fathers in this book each had his own unique and successful style of parenting. The first book to showcase the importance of the black father's impact on the accomplishments of his daughter, Daughters of Men provides an intimate look at black fatherhood and the many ways fathers have a lasting impact on their daughters' lives.
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Portrait of Ivan
Handprint Staff
Manufacturer: Hand Print
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 188691060X |
Book Description
"The painter, who was sitting on a stool, stared at Ivan so steadily that Ivan felt a faint touch of fear, as though he were being asked a question he could never answer." Thus begins the compelling story of an unusual relationship between a sensitive young boy and an artist whose appearance in his life proves to be life-changing. Ivan's father is a businessman who pays little attention to him, his mother is dead, and he spends most of his time at his home in New York, attended only by the Haitian housekeeper. His father commissions an artist, Matt Mustazza, to paint a portrait of Ivan, but he also gives his son another gift: permission to accompany Matt on a trip to paint an old mansion in Florida. The idea of driving all the way from New York to Florida excites him in a way he's never felt before. Ivan, Matt, and his eccentric friend Miss Manderby and her cat Alyosha pile into a "crazy old car" and head south, where Ivan meets a free-spirited girl, Geneva, and begins the painful but rewarding process of finding himself.
Book Description
(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)
The Portrait of a Lady is the most stunning achievement of Henry James's early period--in the 1860s and '70s when he was transforming himself from a talented young American into a resident of Europe, a citizen of the world, and one of the greatest novelists of modern times. A kind of delight at the success of this transformation informs every page of this masterpiece. Isabel Archer, a beautiful, intelligent, and headstrong American girl newly endowed with wealth and embarked in Europe on a treacherous journey to self-knowledge, is delineated with a magnificence that is at once casual and tense with force and insight. The characters with whom she is entangled--the good man and the evil one, between whom she wavers, and the mysterious witchlike woman with whom she must do battle--are each rendered with a virtuosity that suggests dazzling imaginative powers. And the scene painting--in England and Italy--provides a continuous visual pleasure while always remaining crucial to the larger drama.
Customer Reviews:
It's a good portrait.......2007-09-29
I read this, my first H. James novel, on the recommendation of a friend while I was commencing a trip to Rome. It was an excellent choice. I must say I was not entirely on board in the early stages of the book, set in England. Marraige proposals were happening too fast for my taste. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised by the witty repartee, which reminded me much of Wilde. The wit diminishes and the intensity increases on the continent, especially in its Roman locale, and it was here that I found myself much more interested. The book has a soul. Its characters are richly painted and became interesting--I enjoyed them all. The novel also has a beautifully symmetric construction. In its early stages I thought James was trying too hard to perfect his European literary colleagues; by the end, the novel stood on its own. So, despite some minor growing pains, I can recommend and will likely read another by HJ. Peter Washington's introduction in the Everyman edition (James' New York version) is an added benefit.
Fiction writers, nota bene.......2006-06-18
Some fictional works retell the stories of other fictional works but from a different point of view. The retellings may occupy roughly the same time as the story they are retelling. Examples are John Gardner's novel Grendel (Beowulf), Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Hamlet), and M. Z. Bradley's novel The Mists of Avalon (King Arthur). The retellings may fill in a bit of fictional history that the original story only touches on. Examples are Jean Rhys's novel Wide Sargasso Sea (Jane Eyre) and Haire-Sargeant's H: The Story of Heathcliff's Journey Back to Wuthering Heights (Wuthering Heights). As a subject of such treatments, Portrait of a Lady seems ripe for the picking. Surely Gilbert Osmond and Madame Merle have their own story to tell apart from the events in the novel, and most likely they have their own version of the events that they share with Isabel Archer.
"Money's a horrid thing to follow, but a charming thing to meet.".......2006-01-26
When Isabel Archer, a bright and independent young American, makes her first trip to Europe in the company of her aunt, Mrs. Touchett, who lives outside of London in a 400-year-old estate, she discovers a totally different world, one which does not encourage her independent thinking or behavior and which is governed by rigid social codes. This contrast between American and European values, vividly dramatized here, is a consistent theme in James's novels, one based on his own experiences living in the US and England. In prose that is filled with rich observations about places, customs, and attitudes, James portrays Isabel's European coming-of-age, as she discovers that she must curb her intellect and independence if she is to fit into the social scheme in which she now finds herself.
Isabel Archer, one of James's most fully drawn characters, has postponed a marriage in America for a year of travel abroad, only to discover upon her precipitate and ill-considered marriage to an American living in Florence, that it is her need to be independent that makes her marriage a disaster. Gilbert Osmond, an American art collector living in Florence, marries Isabel for the fortune she has inherited from her uncle, treating her like an object d'art which he expects to remain "on the shelf." Madame Serena Merle, his long-time lover, is, like Osmond, an American whose venality and lack of scruples have been encouraged, if not developed, by the European milieu in which they live.
James packs more information into one paragraph than many writers do in an entire chapter. Distanced and formal, he presents psychologically realistic characters whose behavior is a direct outgrowth of their upbringing, with their conflicts resulting from the differences between their expectations and the reality of their changed settings. The subordinate characters, Ralph Touchett, Pansy Osmond, her suitor Edward Rosier, American journalist Henrietta Stackpole, Isabel's former suitor Caspar Stackpole, and Lord Warburton, whose love of Isabel leads him to court Pansy, are as fascinating psychologically and as much a product of their own upbringing as is Isabel.
As the setting moves from America to England, Paris, Florence, and Rome, James develops his themes, and as Isabel's life becomes more complex, her increasingly difficult and emotionally affecting choices about her life make her increasingly fascinating to the reader. James's trenchant observations about the relationship between individuals and society and about the effects of one's setting on one's behavior are enhanced by the elegance and density of his prose, making this a novel one must read slowly--and savor. Mary Whipple
The Audiobook Is Worth Listening Too If You Have The Adapter!.......2005-10-02
Like the previous reviewer I also have the unabridged audiobook recording put out by Brilliance Audio but I like it, but having the adapter really makes a difference and I listen to most of my audiobooks with headphones anyway using my Walkman and CD/cassette tape boombox. I found my adapter in Barnes and Noble but it can also be found in the company's mail order catalog and online web site. The Catalog is called Audiobookstand and the website is [...]. BTW: You can listen to these audiobooks without an adapter if your car or home stereo receiver, cassette or CD player has balance control and with that you basically just follow the same directions of the adapter. I tried it and it worked fine with no annoying sounds but I did have to adjust the balance a few times until I got it just right! As for the adpater, I personally found investing in it well worth it because I will often use my walkman to listen to audiobooks and because these unabridged audiobooks are pretty inexpensive with prices that range from 10 dollars to around 20 dollars verses companies that offer unabridged audio recordings for the same book at 50 dollars and higher. This audio cassette recording of Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady is read by Laural Merlington who is one of the best readers of audiobooks but even with that said I can understand why the previous reviewer was annoyed about the special adapter thing but I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who has the BookCassette adapter or a stereo with a fully functioning balance controll knob and I also recommend the paperback book or the hardcover book.
Unabridged cassettes require special adapter.......2005-03-23
This is a review of the unabridged audio cassettes. It would have been nice if the Amazon description had mentioned that these cassettes will not play on a Walkman or other audio player without a special adapter (and the adapter only works with headphones). I have listened to many books on tape but this is the first one that has required an adapter; I have no idea where to purchase the adapter (which appears to be specific to the publisher) and I am not thrilled about doing that to listen to one book, anyway. The tapes will play on a full stereo system with some adjustments, but you have to be able to switch the stereo completely to the left, which results in a really annoying sound.
Book Description
The story of one of the most important -- and most elusive -- figures of the American Revolution, Samuel Adams traces the life of the "Man of the Revolution," as he was called by Thomas Jefferson, from his childhood as a fifth-generation New Englander to his pivotal role in the Boston Tea Party and war that followed to a life spent in public service. Benjamin Irvin explores the fascinating contradictions of Samuel Adams's life: he was born into a family of high rank, but lived a humble, almost impoverished life; he could barely manage his personal household, but brilliantly managed the Massachusetts House of Representatives; he pushed for the Revolution, but resisted the Constitution; he spearheaded resistance to the English government but staunchly opposed resistance to the U.S. government. A perceptive look at the life of a complex man, Samuel Adams is an evocative portrait of one of our nation's most interesting Founding Fathers.
Customer Reviews:
Much More Than a Great Beer Maker!.......2006-02-13
There are literally hundreds of volumes written on John Adams, but only a handful on his equally important founding cousin, Samuel. This book, SAMUEL ADAMS, SON OF LIBERTY, FATHER OF REVOLUTION, by Benjamin Irvin, is a fine place to learn about the forgotten Adams.
The book begins with a detailed instruction of life in Puritan New England in the 1700's. The book details how Samuel's father, himself a brewer, lost most of his fortune in a banking scheme. This event led the way for Samuel's distrust of British government.
Irvin devotes the major part of the book to a portrayal of the role Adams played in the events leading to the American Revolution. The author details such events as Adams protests against the Stamp Act and Townsend Duties and Adams inevitable rise to popularity with his involvement in organizations and events such as the Sons of Liberty, organizing boycotts of British goods, and writing petitions and resolutions of protest.
Irvin depicts Adams, as he should be, at the center of revolutionary activity protesting the Boston massacre, proposing the "committees of correspondence," and helping initiate the Boston Tea Party. Adams also served in the 1st and 2nd Continental Congress and was a signor of the Declaration of Independence.
In the post-revolution era, Irvin tells of Adams reluctant work in the ratification of the Constitution. Adams somewhat feared the powers being granted the federal government, but gave in to the federalists arguments.
Irvin concludes by telling us that Adams was the single most instrumental person in making the revolution a reality. This brief book is one of the better works available on the life and times of Samuel Adams.
Amazon.com
"When I went back two years ago, standing in the place where they came to kill us, I showed my daughter and my grandson, 'This is where my ashes are supposed to have been'" says 70-year-old John Klein, one of the 50 survivors of the Nazi concentration camps who recount their horrifying stories in When They Came to Take My Father. The book was edited by Leora Kahn, a photography editor, and Rachel Hager, an editor at Parents magazine. Photographs are by Mark Seliger. The editors have wisely allowed the power of the testimony within to emerge. "Everybody knew that if you didn't get up for roll call, they would take you to the gas chamber," remembers Rosa Strygler. "One day ... I left my mother knowing that when I came back she would not be there. And she wasn't."
Book Description
"When I went back two years ago, standing in the place where they came to kill us, I showed my daughter and my grandson, 'This is where my ashes are supposed to have been'" says 70-year-old John Klein, one of the 50 survivors of the Nazi concentration camps who recount their horrifying stories in When They Came to Take My Father. The book was edited by Leora Kahn, a photography editor, and Rachel Hager, an editor at Parents magazine. Photographs are by Mark Seliger. The editors have wisely allowed the power of the testimony within to emerge. "Everybody knew that if you didn't get up for roll call, they would take you to the gas chamber," remembers Rosa Strygler. "One day ... I left my mother knowing that when I came back she would not be there. And she wasn't."
Customer Reviews:
"This is where my ashes are supposed to have been".......2004-12-11
This is a rather different book on the Holocaust.It is the summaries of the interviews carried out with 50 people who survived the Holocaust.These interviews were done in the mid 90's with survivors who are in their senior years;many who were born over 80 years ago.Several of the people were the sole survivor of a large family.Included are excellent portraits of all these people.It is obvious that they have heavy hearts when remembering the terrible injustices they experienced.
Some of the thoughts expressed:
"We were counted like gold,treated like s---."
" know that the bulk of them went straight to the gas chambers
because I saw it that day kneeling on the stones."
"The hope of everyone was to see the Germans beaten."
"The sign of a free man is being able to keep your hands in
your pockets."
"We were loaded on cattle cars-jammed full-and shipped to
Auschwitz."
"It was a daily lottery with death,and I happened to win."
"If they nail me,you can have my shoes."
"Those who say we should forgive and forget,have nothing to
forgive and nothing to forget.I cannot forgive,I cannot
forget."
NEVER AGAIN!
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