This book contains the third and final volume of Henry James' classic novel,
The Portrait of a Lady
.
In this final part, we see Isabel attempt to navigate her marriage to Oswald, which has become an unhappy one. She has previously discovered that Oswald's daughter by a previous marriage, Pansy, was born of an adulterous relationship. Her disabled cousin Ralph health begins to fail - despite the opposition of her petty and vindictive husband Oswald, Isabel departs to comfort and nurse her dying relative in his final weeks of life. Complicating matters further is the arrival of Goodwood, a former suitor who still holds Isabel in great regard.
Brought up in New York, the prim and proper society of late Victorian England contrast markedly with the adventure and ideals of freedom which are central to identity in the New World. The centuries old European culture whereby the richer classes arrange suitable marriages between their younger members as a matter of family business does not sit well with Isabel. These differences in cultural attitudes fascinated the author Henry James, and is a central for the entirety of this lengthy novel.
Craving independence and a free life of her own, Isabel must fend for her freedoms against a number of suitors, in the hope of finding her place in life. The question of whether her natural principles and qualities can be maintained in an unhappy marriage comes to the fore in the closing portion of the novel.