{"product_id":"the-portrait-of-a-lady-9780143137320","title":"The Portrait of a Lady","description":"\u003cb\u003eHenry James's beloved masterpiece, now in a beautiful hardcover edition featuring James's groundbreaking essay \"The Art of Fiction,\" with a foreword by acclaimed novelist Brandon Taylor\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Penguin Vitae Edition\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Portrait of a Lady\u003c\/i\u003e is regarded by many as Henry James's finest work, and a lucid tragedy exploring the distance between money and happiness. 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. Then she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gilbert Osmond. Charming and cultivated, Osmond sees Isabel as a rich prize waiting to be taken. Beneath his veneer of civilized behavior, Isabel discovers cruelty and a stifling darkness. In this portrait of a \"young woman affronting her destiny,\" Henry James created one of his most magnificent heroines, and a story of intense poignancy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHenry James\u003c\/b\u003e (1843-1916) was born in New York and died in London. In addition to many short stories, plays, and books of criticism, autobiography, and travel, he wrote some twenty novels, the first published being \u003ci\u003eRoderick Hudson\u003c\/i\u003e (1875). They include \u003ci\u003eThe Europeans\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWashington Square\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Portrait of a Lady\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Bostonians\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Princess Casamassima\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Tragic Muse, The Spoils of Poynton\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Awkward Age\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wings of the Dove\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Ambassadors\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Golden Bowl\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrandon Taylor\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the acclaimed novel \u003ci\u003eReal Life\u003c\/i\u003e, which has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and named a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Editors' Choice, and \u003ci\u003eFilthy Animals\u003c\/i\u003e. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Iowa, where he was an Iowa Arts Fellow at the Iowa Writers' Workshop in fiction.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Penguin Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50568120729874,"sku":"9780143137320","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_63a05d8b-f325-47fa-bc3c-da9b904f58c0.jpg?v=1748515863","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-portrait-of-a-lady-9780143137320","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}