The Portrait of a Lady
Atlantic Monthly
XLVI (Nov.-Dec. 1880): 585-611; 740-766;
XLVII (Jan.-Jun. 1881): 1-27; 176-205; 335-359; 449-477; 623-647; 800-826;
XLVIII (Jul.-Dec. 1881): 59-85; 213-240; 338-365; 479-499; 620-640; 751-770.
The Portrait of a Lady first appeared as serialized installments in Macmillan’s Magazine, running from October 1880 until November 1881. Prior publication in Great Britain was essential in order for James to retain his English copyright. Serialization in the Atlantic Monthly followed after a one-month delay (November 1880 through December 1881).
James corrected a duplicate set of proofs for Macmillan’s Magazine, sending one batch to United States from which the Atlantic could set type. As might be expected, the compositors in Boston were obliged to make numerous changes (more than 1500) in spelling and punctuation in order to conform to the different house-style of the American magazine. But the editorial department (at first William Dean Howells, but then his successor, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, who assumed control in March 1881) also introduced more than 600 substantive variants in the serial text. While many of these might be considered rather subtle—the Atlantic refused to dignify aristocratic substantives with capital letters (printing “countess” rather than “Countess,” for example, and “church” rather than “Church” when referring to the Anglican denomination)—others would have affected readers’ perceptions more explicitly. (Forty-three exclamation points were inserted—and only eleven dropped—which would have heightened a kind of typographical melodrama in the mood of the novel.) While in quite a few instances, the magazine’s proofreading eye was keener than the author’s, the Atlantic also introduced several conspicuous errors which James had no ability to correct. He did not see proofs of the Atlantic pages before they were bound up for distribution.
For a complete record of these and other textual variants, readers should consult the Cambridge Edition of The Portrait of a Lady in its print form, published in 2016.
A special note on chapter division: Both serial texts—and all bound volumes—of The Portrait of a Lady are divided into 55 chapters. But the chapter divisions of the serial texts differ from those of the other printed formats. Chapters 1 through 19 are identical in all formats. When recasting his novel for book publication, James divided serial chapter 20 at the point where Mrs. Touchett embarks for Italy (“Mrs. Touchett, before arriving in Paris, had fixed a day for her departure. . . .”); the remainder of serial chapter 20 thus becomes chapter 21 in the printed volumes. Correspondingly, chapter 47 of the book texts combines serial chapters 46 and 47—a natural inclusion, one might say, since both of them center on Henrietta Stackpole: her return to Rome; her news of Caspar Goodwood; her relations with Mr. Bantling. Chapters 48 through 55, thereafter, are identical in all formats.
