The Portrait of a Lady (Collins Classics)

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.

‘Money's a horrid thing to follow, but a charming thing to meet.’

Isabel Archer is a beautiful, intelligent and independent young woman. Brought from America to England by her wealthy Aunt who seeks to further her education and find her niece a husband, Isabel is determined to shape her own future – one that does not necessarily entail becoming a wife. Isabel inherits a fortune when her rich uncle dies and feels even more inclined to turn down two eligible suitors on the basis that she is a woman of her own means. However, a trip to Italy heralds her downfall when she meets the charming Gilbert Osmond, a worthless, yet ambitious and scheming dilettante.

• Highly collectible, these must-have classics should feature in every family's home library.

• Striking and recognisable black and white cover designs, achieving stand-out on the bookshelves against the competition.

Features include:

• A glossary of Classic Literature: Words and Phrases, adapted from the Collins English Dictionary.

• A Life & Times section, detailing information about the author, their work and the time of publication.

• A History of Collins, exploring the heritage and established reputation of Collins as a publisher of Classic fiction.

Competition: The Scarlett Letter; Middlemarch; Tess Of The D'Urbervilles; Agnes Grey; A Room With A View. William Makepeace;Nathaniel Hawthorne; George Eliot; Thomas Hardy; Anne Brontë;