Mrs. Osmond

A novel

De: John Banville

Narrado por: Amy Finegan

From the Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea, a dazzling and audacious new novel that extends the story of Isabel Archer, the heroine of Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady, into unexpected territory.

Isabel Archer is a young American woman, swept off to Europe in the late nineteenth century by an aunt who hopes to round out the impetuous but naïve girl's experience of the world. When Isabel comes into a large, unexpected inheritance, she is finagled into a marriage with the charming, penniless, and—as Isabel finds out too late—cruel and deceitful Gilbert Osmond, whose connection to a certain Madame Merle is suspiciously intimate. On a trip to England to visit her cousin Ralph Touchett on his deathbed, Isabel is offered a chance to free herself from the marriage, but nonetheless chooses to return to Italy. Banville follows James's story line to this point, but Mrs. Osmond is thoroughly Banville's own: the narrative inventiveness; the lyrical precision and surprise of his language; the layers of emotional and psychological intensity; the subtle, dark humor. And when Isabel arrives in Italy—along with someone else!—the novel takes off in directions that James himself would be thrilled to follow.

Henry James-ish for sure but not one of Banville’s best

This was a reasonable elaboration of Portrait of a Lady, but tedious and repetitious at times.

John Banville honors Henry James in devising an elegant continuation of “The Portrait of a Lady”

First, there is an excellent review of “Mrs. Osmond” by Caryl Phillips in The New York Review of Books, November 23, 2017. Audible might put a link to it on its website.

I do enjoy John Banville’s exquisite writing, and was wary of listening to it on the audio book, but found that the narrator did an excellent job of letting the language spool out, while articulating the differences in characters. As in the James novel, most of the narrative comprises Isabel’s interior thoughts. Slowly, Banville reveals how Isabel comes to wrest control for her destiny out of the hands of her husband, while leaving her next steps unresolved. For readers of Portrait of a Lady, this is compelling because despite our impatience with Isabel, we want her to succeed. Banville traces Isabel’s very human fits and starts of finding direction for herself, while leaving her future steps unresolved.
I found Mrs. Osmond’s narrative absorbing, and entertaining, despite wanting to scream at her occasionally. I enjoyed Banville’s finely drawn characterization of the other players, those from the James novel and some new ones.

Her adventures in finding herself.

I loved the writing. Great story, but I did not understand the ending. I must admit, I started reading it hardcopy then switched to listening.

Banville is not Henry James, but it's OK

Unfortunately I listened to Mrs. Osmond right after listening to Portrait of a Lady, and the fact that Henry James is a far superior author was glaringly obvious ... but as I continued to listen and James' style and descriptions were no longer so fresh in my mind, I enjoyed the story; so I would say it's worth the read or listen, just be sure that some time has passed since you've heard Portrait of a Lady.

A satisfying sequel

A credible conclusion to The Portrait of a Lady, and thankfully a plot that moved faster than the James story.