Henry James’ The Portrait of a Lady, set in the twilight of the Victorian age but heralding the (troubled) dawn of the modern novel, follows the adventures, if that is what they are, of Isabel Archer, arguably the first American heroine determined to look at life for herself. We will be as leisurely in reading as James is in recounting what she sees, what she misses or overlooks and what she makes of the chances life offers her.

NOTE: We will read and discuss the novel gradually across four classes. Please read through chapter 14 for our first meeting. No prior knowledge of James’s fiction is required. If you are purchasing the novel, I recommend and prefer Oxford World’s Classics.