Portrait of a NovelPortrait of a Novel
Henry James and the Making of An American Masterpiece
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Book, 2012
Current format, Book, 2012, 1st ed, No Longer Available.Book, 2012
Current format, Book, 2012, 1st ed, No Longer Available. Offered in 0 more formatsThis biography of the author of Portrait of a Lady describes the author's family, the European literary circles he moved within, and the psychological forces at work when he created one of the most well-known and memorable female protagonists in literature. 10,000 first printing.
Describes Henry James' family, the European literary circles he moved within, and the psychological forces at work when he created one of the most well-known and memorable female protagonists in literature.
Editor and literary critic Gorra (English, Smith College) describes this work in his preface as the story of a Henry James novel, rather than a biography of James himself; but his clear and engaging narrative manages to do both, illuminating the author's life, working methods, and subtle creativity through the lens of one work. The novel under scrutiny is Portrait of a Lady, with particular focus on the character of Isabel Archer. Liveright Publishing is an imprint of W.W. Norton. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Henry James (1843–1916) has had many biographers, but Michael Gorra has taken an original approach to this great American progenitor of the modern novel, combining elements of biography, criticism, and travelogue in re-creating the dramatic backstory of James’s masterpiece, Portrait of a Lady (1881). Gorra, an eminent literary critic, shows how this novel—the scandalous story of the expatriate American heiress Isabel Archer—came to be written in the first place. Traveling to Florence, Rome, Paris, and England, Gorra sheds new light on James’s family, the European literary circles—George Eliot, Flaubert, Turgenev—in which James made his name, and the psychological forces that enabled him to create this most memorable of female protagonists. Appealing to readers of Menand’s The Metaphysical Club and McCullough’s The Greater Journey, Portrait of a Novel provides a brilliant account of the greatest American novel of expatriate life ever written. It becomes a piercing detective story on its own.
A revelatory biography of the American master as told through the lens of his greatest novel.
Finalist for the Pulitzer PrizeFinalist for National Book Critics Circle Award: BiographyOne of the Best Books of 2012: The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, The Millions, Kirkus Reviews, Boston PhoenixA revelatory biography of the American master as told through the lens of his greatest novel.
Portrait of a LadyThe Metaphysical ClubThe Greater JourneyPortrait of a Novel
Describes Henry James' family, the European literary circles he moved within, and the psychological forces at work when he created one of the most well-known and memorable female protagonists in literature.
Editor and literary critic Gorra (English, Smith College) describes this work in his preface as the story of a Henry James novel, rather than a biography of James himself; but his clear and engaging narrative manages to do both, illuminating the author's life, working methods, and subtle creativity through the lens of one work. The novel under scrutiny is Portrait of a Lady, with particular focus on the character of Isabel Archer. Liveright Publishing is an imprint of W.W. Norton. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Henry James (1843–1916) has had many biographers, but Michael Gorra has taken an original approach to this great American progenitor of the modern novel, combining elements of biography, criticism, and travelogue in re-creating the dramatic backstory of James’s masterpiece, Portrait of a Lady (1881). Gorra, an eminent literary critic, shows how this novel—the scandalous story of the expatriate American heiress Isabel Archer—came to be written in the first place. Traveling to Florence, Rome, Paris, and England, Gorra sheds new light on James’s family, the European literary circles—George Eliot, Flaubert, Turgenev—in which James made his name, and the psychological forces that enabled him to create this most memorable of female protagonists. Appealing to readers of Menand’s The Metaphysical Club and McCullough’s The Greater Journey, Portrait of a Novel provides a brilliant account of the greatest American novel of expatriate life ever written. It becomes a piercing detective story on its own.
A revelatory biography of the American master as told through the lens of his greatest novel.
Finalist for the Pulitzer PrizeFinalist for National Book Critics Circle Award: BiographyOne of the Best Books of 2012: The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, The Millions, Kirkus Reviews, Boston PhoenixA revelatory biography of the American master as told through the lens of his greatest novel.
Portrait of a LadyThe Metaphysical ClubThe Greater JourneyPortrait of a Novel
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- New York : Liveright Pub. Corporation, c2012.
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