326

Henry James (1843-1916)

The Portrait of a Lady.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1881.
First edition, three octavo volumes; one of only 750 copies printed, title-page in vol. II lacking full stops as called for; rebound in contemporary quarter polished calf, gilt-decorated spines, each with a red morocco cartouche with the title stamped in gilt, greenish blue endpapers, top edges stained brown, all others speckled (lacking the advertisement catalogue in vol. III, sporadic small stains, faint marginal toning, two minor tape repairs to vol. I; front board, flyleaf and half-title of vol. III detached, cracking to spine leather, somewhat rubbed, a few stains, corners bumped); 7 ¼ x 4 ½ in.  (3)

One of Henry James' most popular novels, The Portrait of a Lady first appeared serially in Macmillan's Magazine and The Atlantic Monthly from 1880-1881. The novel follows the free-spirited Isabel Archer, a young American woman newly in possession of a substantial inheritance and the trials she faces at the hands of various scheming individuals. 

Edel & Laurence A16a. 

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