{ "item_title" : "The Portrait of a Lady - Volume 1", "item_author" : [" Henry James "], "item_description" : "How much freedom can a young woman claim when wealth, affection and social expectation all seek to define her choices? Isabel Archer arrives in Europe determined to preserve her independence, yet every new relationship tests the confidence with which she imagines her future. Intelligent, spirited and eager to judge life for herself, she becomes the compelling centre of a literary novel concerned less with outward adventure than with the difficult art of choosing well. An unexpected inheritance enlarges Isabel's possibilities while making responsibility impossible to ignore. Marriage proposals, family connections and encounters with expatriates, artists and social observers expose competing ideas of happiness, status and self-determination. Against the cultivated settings of Florence and a wider European world shaped by art and history, conversations carry unusual weight: impressions are formed, motives assessed and assumptions quietly challenged. The contrast between American independence and European social convention sharpens the questions surrounding Isabel without reducing them to simple answers. Isabel's developing consciousness gives this psychological fiction its distinctive force. Her self-confidence is inseparable from the limits of her understanding, and her desire to shape her own life must contend with the influence of money, class and romantic choice. Social observation and moral inquiry remain closely bound to her changing judgements, creating a searching portrait of liberty as both opportunity and burden. This book was out of print for decades and is now republished by Alpha Editions. It has been restored for today's and future generations. This edition is not just a reprint - it's a collector's item and a cultural treasure.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers1.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/9/37/778/481/9377784816_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "28.99", "online_price" : "28.99", "our_price" : "28.99", "club_price" : "28.99", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }

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