PORTRAIT OF A NOVEL By Michael Gorra


Henry James was 38 when he published Portrait of a Lady in 1881. Although James would continue to write and publish for decades, Portrait of a Lady was his most lucrative book and his most popular novel. Michael Gorra’s insightful Portrait of a Novel takes the reader step-by-step through the process of Henry James writing his great novel. Along the way, Gorra shows how George Eliot influenced Portrait of a Lady. Gorra also compares the original 1881 version of Portrait of a Lady with James’s revised New York Edition version published in 1906. I found myself delighted by Gorra’s analysis of Henry James’s death scene of Mr. Touchett: no prayers, no clergy, no crying–so unlike typical sentimental Victorian literature death scenes. The Spectator book review scathingly reported Portrait of a Lady was marked by the “cloven foot” of agnosticism.

Gorra also makes connections between other Henry James works: “Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors, and The Golden Bowl all turned on the question of sex outside of marriage.” (p. 157) If you’re in the mood for a well-written story of how a classic novel came to be written, I highly recommend Portrait of a Novel. If you’re a fan of Henry James, this is a must-read!
GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Prologue: An Old Man in Rye, p. xiii
Part One : A PREPARATION FOR CULTURE
1.: The Girl in the Doorway, p. 3
2.: A Native of No Country, p. 12
3.: A Superstitious Valuation, p. 31
4.: Along the Thames, p. 45
Part Two : THE MARRIAGE PLOT
5.: Her Empty Chair, p. 57
6.: Proposals, p. 68
7.: An Unmarried Man, p. 77
8.: A London Life, p. 95
9.: The Envelope of Circumstances, p. 105
Part Three : ITALIAN JOURNEYS
10.: Bellosguardo Hours, p. 121
11.: Mr. Osmond, p. 133
12.: Stranieri, p. 141
13.: An Uncertain Terrain, p. 155
14.: A Venetian Interlude, p. 165
15.: Fenimore, p. 174
Part Four : SEX AND SERIALS, THE CONTINENT AND THE CRITICS
16.: Maupassant and the Monkey, p. 191
17.: The Magazines, p. 208
18.: The Roccanera, p. 222
19.: The Art of Fiction, p. 239
pt. Five : PUTTING OUT THE LIGHTS
20.: The Altar of the Dead, p. 257
21.: “I Was Perfectly Free”, p. 268
22.: Working in the Dark, p. 280
23.: The Second Chance, p. 293
24.: Endgame, p. 309
Acknowledgments, p. 335
Sources and Notes, p. 337
Index, p. 365

14 thoughts on “PORTRAIT OF A NOVEL By Michael Gorra

    1. george Post author

      Deb, you will find delight in the pages of PORTRAIT OF A NOVEL. I learned a lot about Henry James and his first great book!

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      Bill, the process of writing a novel always fascinates me. Michael Gorra tells a great story of how PORTRAIT OF A LADY came into existence.

      Reply
  1. Deb

    I think one of the best books I’ve read about James’s creative process–especially how small incidents germinated to create larger fictional events years later–was Colm Toibin’s THE MASTER.

    Reply
  2. Jeff Meyerson

    I’ll put it on my list. First I’ll get out my 5-volume Leon Edel biography and reread him on PORTRAIT. I didn’t realize (or remember) that it was his most lucrative book.

    Reply
  3. Cap'n Bob

    Thanks, but PASS! I have too many already-written books to read to read about how a book was written! Perhaps if I was younger…!

    Reply

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