Book Summary and Reviews of Mrs. Osmond by John Banville

Book Summary

From the Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea, a dazzling and audacious new novel that extends the story of Isabel Archer, the heroine of Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady, into unexpected territory.

Isabel Archer is a young American woman, swept off to Europe in the late nineteenth century by an aunt who hopes to round out the impetuous but naïve girl's experience of the world. When Isabel comes into a large, unexpected inheritance, she is finagled into a marriage with the charming, penniless, and - as Isabel finds out too late - cruel and deceitful Gilbert Osmond, whose connection to a certain Madame Merle is suspiciously intimate. On a trip to England to visit her cousin Ralph Touchett on his deathbed, Isabel is offered a chance to free herself from the marriage, but nonetheless chooses to return to Italy.

Banville follows James's story line to this point, but Mrs. Osmond is thoroughly Banville's own: the narrative inventiveness; the lyrical precision and surprise of his language; the layers of emotional and psychological intensity; the subtle, dark humor. And when Isabel arrives in Italy - along with someone else! - the novel takes off in directions that James himself would be thrilled to follow.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Have you read The Portrait of a Lady? How does this sequel compare to your interpretation of James's ambiguous ending?
2. Banville chose as his epigraph an excerpt from James's novel: "Deep in her soul—deeper than any appetite for renunciation—was the sense that life would be her business for a long time to come." What does this sentence mean? Why did Banville choose this particular passage?
3. Our first glimpse of Isabel's character comes through her maid, Staines, on page 4, who feels vexed by "what she considered her mistress's willful credulousness, deplorable gullibility and incurably soft heart." Does this strike you as an accurate assessment? How does Isabel change over the course of the novel?
4. At ...