Isabel Osmond

Mrs. Isabel Osmond (formerly Isabel Archer), an American living in Italy, is the protagonist of Banville’s novel. Greatly wronged by her husband, Gilbert, and his mistress of twenty years, the narrative follows Isabel’s story as she travels across Europe with her maid seeking assistance and advice from long-time friends and acquaintances. Given a plump fortune from her uncle due to her deceased cousin Ralph’s meddling, Isabel spends a great amount of time contemplating how the large sum of money changed her life for the worse rather than the better, and she often accosts herself for not having realized her husband’s deceit before the domestic treacheries were at last explained to her by her sister-in-law, the Countess Gemini. Isabel is in her twenties while Gilbert is many years her senior. While she has a bright personality, Isabel is not accustomed to standing up to...