This ebook includes a biographical introduction, a short, critical analysis of James' career and a brief introduction to this work.

Originally serialised in the Atlantic Monthly between 1880 and 1881 then published in book form later in the year, The Portrait of a Lady was certainly the finest novel in James' early career. The plot centres upon a young American heiress, Isabel Archer and her interactions in Europe with two scheming compatriots, Gilbert Osmond, whom she marries, and Madame Merle who, it is revealed, has worked with Osmond to secure the marriage and Archer's fortune. Having previously rejected the proposals of two earlier suitors in an effort to retain her independence, finding out that the man she did accept had actually been scheming against presents Archer with certain difficulties.

The novel marks a profound step away from the idea of plot, towards the notion of character development with plotting merely the means as opposed to the end. James' idea is that resolution comes about not through conveniently tying up the threads of a novel, but by rounding out the strengths of the character under study. That the novel displays a certain ambiguity at the close is evidence enough that this was James' purpose.

The character of Isabel Archer has been analysed considerably. Some critics have noticed her similarities with other fictional characters from books by Anne Moncure Crane and also by George Eliot, the latter reference noted by James himself. Later literary criticism has posited a strong reference to Minny Temple, a young woman known by James who died of tuberculosis before James' career established itself.