The Portrait of a Lady is a novel about a young woman who is claiming her independence and insists upon taking her life in her own hands even against the wishes and advice of important people in her life and against societal rules. When the blessing of personal freedom turns into a curse and her dreams and expectations go wrong, will she have the strength of character to accept the consequences of her choices? And what she finally does, does it show strength or resignation? Henry James is only an objective narrator. The responsibility of the final judgment is left solely at the hands of the reader... This great classic is awaiting your verdict!

Back in early 2005?-2006? when I was still struggling with the English language, I was first assigned to read Daisy Miller at a Jr. College class and I immediately fell in love with Henry James's writing even though I had to use a dictionary on every other word. Then, I proceeded reading on my own a few other works by him, including The Portrait of a Lady that has been one of my favorite books since then. Henry James is one of my favorite writers. He is a master of description that makes you feel as if you were sitting across the writer in a cozy armchair by the fireplace hearing Henry James himself narrating his stories to you, as if the characters were people that you and him knew personally. I understand not everyone loves Henry James's long, convoluted sentences, but his writing is so beautiful and poetic!