Synopses & Reviews
By using the 1882 edition of The Portrait of a Lady, the text reflects more clearly the culture from and to which it was written. A significant number of fairly contemporary materials deal with etiquette/behavior, conceptions of the American girl and the American woman, discussions of Americans (especially girls/women) living abroad, and international marriages. Magazine and newspapers articles of the period also help to place Isabel Archer in a historical context. The volume includes reprints of contemporary reviews, emphasizing those that found the ending of the novel perplexing.
About the Author
Paul Lauter is the Smith Professor of Literature at Trinity College. He has served as president of the American Studies Association and is a major figure in the revision of the American literary canon.
Table of Contents
I. The Portrait of a Lady II. The Cultural Matrix American Manners and European Travel Eliza Lavin, "Chaperons" Mrs. Annie P. White, "Traveling Manners" From "Good Form" in England Americans Abroad "Fast Travel and Fast Life," New York Times [untitled editorial], New York Times Samuel Williams "Some Americans Who Travel" Lucy H. Hooper, "American Women Abroad" "Americans Abroad," New York Times "American Beauty Abroad," New York Times I.M. "The American Colony in France" [Henry James] "Americans Abroad" The American Character "American Character," New York Times "Typical Americans," New York Times "The Palm for Our People," New York Times "The American Woman," New York Times "The American Girl," New York Times "The American Girl," Nation International Marriage and the "Dollar Princess" "Marrying Titles," New York Times "An Anglo-American Marriage," New York Times "Americans for Americans," New York Times "An Englishman's Wooing," New York Times "Money Mated with a Title," New York Times III. Henry James as Literary Critic: The Example of Hawthorne Henry James, From Hawthorne [William Dean Howells] "James's Hawthorne" Henry James, Letter to William Dean Howells IV. The Reception of The Portrait of a Lady "Mr. James's Portrait of a Lady," Literary World [John Hay] "James's The Portrait of a Lady" [untitled review] Californian William Dean Howells "Henry James, Jr." V. James and The Portrait Revisited Henry James, Preface [to the New York Edition of The Portrait of a Lady] Works Cited For Further Reading