The Portrait of a Lady

By: Henry James

Narrated by: John Wood

Length: 23 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

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 enjoy the freedom that her fortune has opened up and to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors, declaring that she will never be wed.

It is only when she finds herself irresistibly drawn to the cultivated but worthless Gilbert Osmond that she discovers that wealth is a two-edged sword. She becomes a victim of her own provincialism and the scheming of her friends, learning only too late that there is a price to be paid for independence. A tragic tale of love and betrayal, it still resonates with audiences today.

With its subtle delineation of American characters in a European setting, The Portrait of a Lady is considered the masterpiece of the first phase of James's career and arguably his most popular story. Within it we find a reflection of James's interest in the differences between the New World and the Old, often to the detriment of the former.

A film adaptation was made in 1996 by New Zealand director Jane Campion, starring Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich, and Barbara Hershey.

Narrator Biography

Having begun his career on stage, John Wood spent seven years in television before eventually playing lead roles in Tom Stoppard's teleplays in 1967. After two Tony nominations for his performances in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead and Sherlock Holmes, he won the award for Best Actor for his role in Stoppard's surrealistic farce, Travesties, in 1976. He also had a long career with the Royal Shakespeare Company and continued his theatre work in both America and the UK, eventually receiving a Laurence Olivier Award nomination in 1997 for his role in Stoppard's Invention of Love.

In 1996, Wood performed in BBC Radio 3's audio production of Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw and in 2010 he narrated audiobook The Portrait of a Lady with Audible Studios. His appearances in feature films have included Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) and, later, television appearances have included Foyles's War (2004) and Lewis (2007). In 2007 he was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Superb Analytical Novel

This outstanding novel subtly explores the nature and character of women of the upper classes 100 years ago. Much is quite modern and applicable today A profound psychological tale

Henry James and the human character

Loved it. Author's understanding and insights into the human character is outstanding. thank you.

Excellent In Every Way

The narrator is phenomenal! This is a fantastic reading of one of the best novels I have ever read.

Excellent story

A naive young woman's good fortune makes her a target for a pair of heartless schemers.

Frustrating

Wonderful classic, but I almost didn't finish it. I can't say too much without spoilers. I'd recommend it, but with reservations.

Brilliant reading

John Wood's compelling reading demonstrates a true and deep understanding of this, one of Henry James's greatest novels. His characterizations were perfect, particularly the difficult and at times enigmatic character of Isabel Archer. I hope Mr. Wood will do many more of James's works.

A masterpiece

John Wood does justice to James's masterpiece with his excellent reading. I don't love his female voices, but the male voices are good, and his narration is superlative. I hope someone will hire John Wood to do more audiobooks.

The first James novel I enjoyed

At last: a Henry James novel that I actually enjoyed! Part of that is due to the wonderful narration of James Wood; part to the spirited character of Isabel Archer, whose intelligence and good humor surpass those of any other James character I’ve read.

Isabel is a young American woman who visits her expat cousins in England. There she meets with unexpected good fortune, but her naïveté leads her into an unwise relationship with a couple of gold-diggers. The ending of the novel is ambiguous, but I choose to regard it as moving toward a moderately happy ending that lies just outside the boundaries of the novel.

The characters are all sharply drawn and full of life. Special honors go to the American journalist Henrietta Stackpoole, an inveterate gossip and a good and loyal friend. Even the villains of the piece, nasty and cold as they are, have motives that rescue them from being caricatures.

James Wood breathes life into the novel with a brilliant take on each character. It’s a tough one: there is such a mixture of British and American voices that it’s hard for any one narrator to get it all right. I’ve read some comments here about his failure to quite get the American accents right; all I can say is that, as an American, the accents sounded fine to me — at least, they didn’t call attention to themselves as irritants.

I have two more Henry James novels on my bucket list. I hope I’m as lucky with them. I’d be happy to listen to this one again.

A difficult read

I am glad I had this on audible. I don't think I would have had the patience to read it. I am not used to character studies like this.

Brilliant lighting of my imagination

In all the books I have ever read, none have concluded with such an unsatisfying light of my imagination as this.

The performance was good and did the author justice.

Overall one of the most delightful renderings of fine literature. The omniscient viewpoint is dated but Henry James handles it with a skill that I envy as a writer.