Gardencourt, The Touchette family estate, embodies the quintessential 19th century English house. The house is described as having “long gabled front of red brick… patches of ivy… clustered chimneys… windows smothered in creepers.” Whilst Gardencourt is a fictional setting, it is reflective of many of the English country homes James would have been familiar with during his travels in England. The main source of inspiration for James’ depiction of Gardencourt can be understood as Hardwick House in Pangbourne, Berkshire, in the South of England, which James visited when it was under the ownership of his cousin Charles Rose, a Liberal MP. The red-bricked Georgian architecture of his house (see image below) resonates with the depiction of Gardencourt’s “long gabled front of red brick”. The reader is informed that the house “had a name and a history”, however despite being reflective of English ideals, it is in “the careful keeping of a shrewd American banker”. Bowden suggests that despite Gardencourt reflecting the “age and beauty and tradition not found in America”, the house can be perceived as symbolic of a positive exchange between American and European culture.

References: Wolf, Bettina. “The Architectural Principle in Henry James’s the Portrait of a Lady.” GRIN, 10 Sept. 2006, www.grin.com/document/60688. Musson, Jeremy. “The Architecture of Henry James: How Real-Life Country Houses Found Their Way into the Work of One of Our Greatest Writers.” Country Life, 17 Dec. 2023, www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/henry-james-country-houses-mastered-in-every-detail-262780

The term ‘magnate’ derives from the Latin ‘magnas’ meaning ‘great man’. The term refers to someone in a high social status or rank. In England, the magnate class went through a change during the later Middle Ages. It had previously consisted of all tenants-in-chief of the crown (a number of more than a hundred families), however after the emergence of the Parliament it decreased to a number of around 60 families. During the Tudor period, Henry VII sought to execute as many magnates as possible in order to consolidate power. A territorial magnate thus refers to a high ranking landowner. Lord Warburton is referred to as a “territorial magnate”, demonstrating that he is a nobleman, an English Lord. The term ‘magnate’ refers to one’s social class or status. Isabel asserts that “a territorial, a political, a social magnate had conceived the design of drawing her into the system in which he lived and moved. A certain instinct, not imperious, but persuasive, told her to resist it.” The term ‘magnate’ was used in Victorian England to refer to someone’s class or status. By claiming to resist being drawn into Lord Warbuton’s magnate, it refers to her rejecting his proposal.

References: Mackenzie, Manfred. “Communities of Knowledge: Secret Society in Henry James.” ELH, vol. 39, no. 1, Mar. 1972, p. 147, https://doi.org/10.2307/2872295.

Old English country houses are a common setting in Victorian literature. Typically, country houses were large private residences at the centre of a working estate, with 20 or more rooms, situated amongst acres of private gardens and parklands and usually containing furniture and art that had been handed down the generations of relatives that had lived in the house. These houses served a range of both public and domestic purposes, as they were often built to reflect a family’s wealth, class and status, whilst also being designed as a comfortable domestic space. The term ‘country house’ has been often used synonymously with the term ‘historic house’, ‘great house’ or ‘stately home’. The country house has become a familiar symbol in English literature, however despite its ubiquity, it is interesting to note how James admits to using the function of a country house to explore social dynamics. This is demonstrated through his assertion that “people bargain, exploit and use each other, with these houses as the shallow of their ambition and intrigue.” English country-houses are often used in novels to highlight and reflect national identity, however, James also uses them as a setting to explore social dynamics.

References: Chung, Jung Hee. “Money and Class.” Journals & Books Online: Cambridge University Press, www.cambridge.org/core. Accessed 12 Mar. 2024. Terentowicz-Fotyga, Urszula. “Dreams, Nightmares and Empty Signifiers: The English Country House in the Contemporary Novel.Pdf.” Academia.Edu, 2 Feb. 2017, www.academia.edu/30827527/Dreams_Nightmares_and_Empty_Signifiers_The_English_Country_House_in_the_Contemporary_Novel_pdf?auto=download.

The drawing-room was a crucial social space in Victorian English houses. It was in drawing rooms that guests would often be greeted and entertained and where coffee and tea would usually be served after meal times. The word ‘drawing room’ derives from the 16th century term ‘withdrawing room’, which refers to the room ladies would often extricate themselves to after dinner, in order to allow men to discuss the topics of conversation not usually deemed proper in mixed company, such as politics, sport and news. During the Regency Era, the term ‘withdrawing room’ was shortened to ‘drawing room’. Victorian drawing rooms were usually one of the largest and most grand rooms in a house and would consist of a range of sitting areas and tables, often containing a pianoforte that would be played for entertainment during social gatherings. These rooms served a range of functions and could be rearranged and opened up in order to host large parties and gatherings. Women often completed needlework or would read, paint and sketch in these rooms. During Winter, drawing rooms were sectioned off with screens and household members would gather around the hearth for warmth.

References: Hatch, Donna. “English Drawing Room.” 13 Oct. 2017, donnahatch.com/english-drawing-room/. https://victoriandecorating.blogspot.com/2007/02/in-victorian-drawing-room.html Musson, Jeremy. “The Drawing Room’s History.” Country Life, 18 Feb. 2020, www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/history-country-house-drawing-room-63348.