Venice is a novel written by the American author Henry James. The book tells the story of a young American named Isabel Archer who travels to Europe in search of adventure and independence. While in Venice, she meets a number of characters who will change her life forever, including the charming and mysterious Countess Gemini, her husband Gilbert Osmond, and the American expatriate Ralph Touchett. As Isabel becomes more involved with these characters, she finds herself drawn into a web of deceit and manipulation that threatens to destroy her happiness and her future. Through Isabel's experiences, James explores themes of love, betrayal, and the struggle for self-determination in a world that is often hostile to women. Venice is a gripping and thought-provoking novel that offers a vivid portrayal of life in 19th century Europe, and a powerful meditation on the human condition.They look like blotches of red and white paint and dishonourable smears of chalk on the cheeks of a noble matron. The face toward the Piazzetta is in especial the newest-looking thing conceivable, --as new as a new pair of boots, or as the mornings paper. We do not profess, however, to undertake a scientific quarrel with these changes, and admit that our complaint is a purely sentimental one. The march of industry in united Italy must doubtless be looked at as a whole, and one must endeavour to believe that it is through innumerable lapses of taste that this deeply interesting country is groping her way to her place among the nations.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work