JAMES, Henry.
The Portrait of a Lady.
“I'm yours for ever--for ever and ever": First Edition of Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady; One of only 750 Copies
London: Macmillan and Co, 1881.
$8,800.00
In Stock
Item Number: RRB-148186
* Custom Clamshell Boxes are hand made by the Harcourt Bindery upon request and take approximately 60 days to complete
First edition, first issue, one of only 750 copies of the last and most accomplished work of fiction during James’ apprentice years. Octavo, three volumes, bound in three quarters morrocco over marbled boards, spines lettered in gilt. In very good condition, bookplates to the front pastedown. Rare.
The Portrait of a Lady was well received at its time of publication. James began with the simple idea of a young American woman confronting her destiny, and from this created the character of the protagonist, and a detailed plot. It presents, typically of James, a trans-Atlantic panorama, and an examination of the old affluent world of Europe and Britain colliding with the new harsher world of America. James examines the psychology of human consciousness and motivation. “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). It was adapted in 1996 by director Jane Campion, into film starring Nicole Kidman as Isabel, John Malkovich as Osmond, and Barbara Hershey as Madame Merle.
The Portrait of a Lady.
$8,800.00
In Stock
Other Books by this Author
![The Works of Henry James: The Novels and Tales. [Including Roderick Hudson; The American; The Europeans; Washington Square; The Portrait of a Lady; The Bostonians; What Masie Knew; The Tragic Muse; The Other House; The Awkward Age; The Sacred Fount; The Wings of the Dove; The Ambassadors; The Turn of the Screw; The Golden Bowl].](https://raptis.bvbeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/RRB-139479-1024x701.jpg)
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