When Isabel Archer, a young American with looks, wit, and imagination, arrives in Europe, she sees the world as 'a place of brightness,' full of possibility. Rejecting suitors who offer her wealth and devotion, she follows her own path and finds it leads to a dark and constricted future. The Portrait of a Lady is the masterpiece of James's middle period, and Isabel is his most engaging central character. This edition provides a new introduction and notes, and includes Henry James's own Preface. `a fairy tale in reverse' The Sunday Times