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The Portrait of a Lady

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The Portrait of a Lady

By: Henry James
Narrated by: Nadia May
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An American heiress newly arrived in Europe, Isabel does not look to a man to furnish her with destiny; instead, she desires, with grace and courage, to find it herself. Two eligible suitors approach her and are refused. She then becomes utterly captivated by the languid charms of Gilbert Osmond.©1881 Public Domain (P)1995 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Classics
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An good book, somewhat given to lengthy analyses, but nonetheless enjoyable for that. The story was a lot about nothing, not really a page turner, but still worth reading.

Lengthy but Interesting

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The subtleties of Henry James's style might not seem designed to be listened to as an audio book. But in fact this reading works excellently since Nadia May always shows insight and understanding of the text, so that the reader's attention is held both during long passages of analysis and reflection and during dialogue, where she distinguishes and projects the various characters most convincingly.James' text does repay slow and careful reading,but for many people this reading may be an excellent way to get into a novel which is demanding but very much worth the effort.

A subtle portrait

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Is there anything you would change about this book?

The ending!

Would you ever listen to anything by Henry James again?

I would listen to The Turn of the Screw. I would listen to other of his works - after all they are all different texts.

What aspect of Nadia May’s performance might you have changed?

Sometimes she seemed to muddle the voices when the characters were in dialogue with one another.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Possibly

Any additional comments?

It was just a slower and more complex 'read' than I had expected. I have read other books by James which I have enjoyed and usually I love 19th century literature. It was difficult to like many of the characters - with the exception of Ralph and Lord Warburton.

Not as enjoyable as expected

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The subtleties of Henry James's style might not seem designed to be listened to as an audio book. But in fact this reading works excellently since Nadia May always shows insight and understanding of the text, so that the reader's attention is held both during long passages of analysis and reflection and during dialogue, where she distinguishes and projects the various characters most convincingly.James' text does repay slow and careful reading,but for many people this reading may be an excellent way to get into a novel which is demanding but very much worth the effort.

A subtle portrait

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