The Portrait of a Lady cover art

The Portrait of a Lady

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

The Portrait of a Lady

By: Henry James
Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £19.90

Buy Now for £19.90

The Portrait of a Lady tells the compelling and ultimately tragic tale of a beautiful young American woman's encounter with European sophistication. Set principally in England and Italy, the story follows Isabel Archer's fortunes as a variety of admirers vie for her hand. Her choice will be crucial, and she is not wanting for advice, whether from the generous-spirited Ralph Touchett or the charming Madame Merle.

The Portrait of a Lady was an immediate success upon publication; it remains the most popular of James' longer works and is generally regarded as the masterpiece of his early period.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2016 Naxos AudioBooks Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Italy
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
Although Juliet Stevenson reads this beautifully, I could not in honesty say it held my attention. A classic it may be, but I found it achingly slow to develop and disappointing. The plot staggered along and seemed very predictable. Suspecting the ending, I researched in the Oxford Companion and confirmed my thoughts. Didn’t finish the book I am afraid to admit. Such a pity as I am sure that from a literary point of view it’s a masterpiece.

Hard going

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have read this book once when I was too young, and again a couple of years ago. It is wonderful and deserves to be taken slowly and thoughtfully. I usually really like Juliet Stevenson, but in this case I ended up being annoyed. She got the American accents so wrong. The Americans in the story belong to the East Coast upper middle class, but she spoke all their voices as if they were tourists from the 20th-century mid-West. Perhaps some people will find this a silly criticism, but if you transpose it to English accents, and think how wrong the incorrect regional accent can make a story sound, then you will understand.

Wonderful book but . . .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a novel of epic length and I plodded through it waiting for something exciting to happen - but unfortunately it didn't and meandered on to a disappointing end. The only saving grace was the excellent narration although even some of her assorted American accents became nauseating.

Tedious

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is Henry James read to perfection . Each word is a treasure to hear . Enjoy the magnificence.

The most perfect reading of this classic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I just love this classic novel, surely the best by Henry James, in my opinion. James paints a picture with words that reveals the psyche of Isabel Archer. This is a difficult novel, sometimes hard to follow with an ambiguous ending that some will find does not satisfy. However James is a master of the use of English prose and Juliet Stevenson's reading of the novel is outstanding. If you like action, this one isn't for you but if you want to listen to the English language at its richest best you won't be disappointed.

A heart breaking tragedy read beautifully.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews