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Zusatztext “ The Portrait of a Lady is entirely successful in giving one the sense of having met somebody far too radiantly good for this world.”— Rebecca West Informationen zum Autor Henry James (1843-1916) is the author of such classic novels as Daisy Miller, The Golden Bowl , and Washington Square . Philip Horne is a professor of English at University College London. Klappentext Regarded by many as Henry James's finest work! and a lucid tragedy exploring the distance between money and happiness! The Portrait of a Lady contains an introduction by Philip Horne in Penguin Classics. 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 behaviour! 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. This edition of The Portrait of a Lady ! based on the earliest published copy of the novel! is the version read first and loved by most readers in James's lifetime. It also contains a chronology! further reading! notes and an introduction by Philip Horne. For more than seventy years! Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1!700 titles! Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors! as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. Chapter 1 Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. There are circumstances in which, whether you partake of the tea or not—some people of course never do,—the situation is in itself delightful. Those that I have in mind in beginning to unfold this simple history offered an admirable setting to an innocent pastime. The implements of the little feast had been disposed upon the lawn of an old English country-house, in what I should call the perfect middle of a splendid summer afternoon. Part of the afternoon had waned, but much of it was left, and what was left was of the finest and rarest quality. Real dusk would not arrive for many hours; but the flood of summer light had begun to ebb, the air had grown mellow, the shad- ows were long upon the smooth, dense turf. They lengthened slowly, however, and the scene expressed that sense of leisure still to come which is perhaps the chief source of one’s enjoyment of such a scene at such an hour. From five o’clock to eight is on certain occasions a little eternity; but on such an occasion as this the interval could be only an eternity of pleasure. The persons concerned in it were taking their pleasure quietly, and they were not of the sex which is supposed to furnish the regular votaries of the ceremony I have mentioned. The shadows on the perfect lawn were straight and angular; they were the shadows of an old man sitting in a deep wicker-chair near the low table on which the tea had been served, and of two younger men strolling to and fro, in desultory talk, in front of him. The old man had his cup in his hand; it was an unusually large cup, of a different pattern from the rest of the set and painted in brilliant colours. He disposed of its contents with much circumspection, holding it...
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The Portrait of a Lady is entirely successful in giving one the sense of having met somebody far too radiantly good for this world. Rebecca West
