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Autres Temps
Edith Wharton (1862-1937), born Edith Newbold Jones, was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer. She combined her insider's view of America's privileged classes with a brilliant, natural wit to write humourous and incisive novels and short stories. Wharton was well-acquainted with many of her era's literary and public figures, including Henry James and Theodore Roosevelt. Besides her writing, she was a highly regarded landscape architect, interior designer, and taste-maker of her time. She wrote several influential books, including The Decoration of Houses (1897), her first published work, and Italian Villas and Their Gardens (1904). The Age of Innocence (1920), perhaps her best known work, won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for literature, making her the first woman to win the award. Her other works include: The Greater Inclination (1899), The Touchstone (1900), Sanctuary (1903), The Descent of Man and Other Stories (1904), The House of Mirth (1905), Madame de Treymes (1907), The Fruit of the Tree (1907), The Hermit and the Wild Woman and Other Stories (1908), Ethan Frome (1912), In Morocco (1921), and The Glimpses of the Moon (1921).
48 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2008
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About the author
Edith Wharton
1,432 books5,249 followersEdith Wharton emerged as one of America’s most insightful novelists, deftly exposing the tensions between societal expectation and personal desire through her vivid portrayals of upper-class life. Drawing from her deep familiarity with New York’s privileged “aristocracy,” she offered readers a keenly observed and piercingly honest vision of Gilded Age society.
Her work reached a milestone when she became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, awarded for The Age of Innocence. This novel highlights the constraining rituals of 1870s New York society and remains a defining portrait of elegance laced with regret.
Wharton’s literary achievements span a wide canvas. The House of Mirth presents a tragic, vividly drawn character study of Lily Bart, navigating social expectations and the perils of genteel poverty in 1890s New York. In Ethan Frome, she explores rural hardship and emotional repression, contrasting sharply with her urban social dramas.
Her novella collection Old New York revisits the moral terrain of upper-class society, spanning decades and combining character studies with social commentary. Through these stories, she inevitably points back to themes and settings familiar from The Age of Innocence. Continuing her exploration of class and desire, The Glimpses of the Moon addresses marriage and social mobility in early 20th-century America. And in Summer, Wharton challenges societal norms with its rural setting and themes of sexual awakening and social inequality.
Beyond fiction, Wharton contributed compelling nonfiction and travel writing. The Decoration of Houses reflects her eye for design and architecture; Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort presents a compelling account of her wartime observations. As editor of The Book of the Homeless, she curated a moving, international collaboration in support of war refugees.
Wharton’s influence extended beyond writing. She designed her own country estate, The Mount, a testament to her architectural sensibility and aesthetic vision. The Mount now stands as an educational museum celebrating her legacy.
Throughout her career, Wharton maintained friendships and artistic exchanges with luminaries such as Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Theodore Roosevelt—reflecting her status as a respected and connected cultural figure.
Her literary legacy also includes multiple Nobel Prize nominations, underscoring her international recognition. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.
In sum, Edith Wharton remains celebrated for her unflinching, elegant prose, her psychological acuity, and her capacity to illuminate the unspoken constraints of society—from the glittering ballrooms of New York to quieter, more remote settings. Her wide-ranging work—novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, travel writing, essays—offers cultural insight, enduring emotional depth, and a piercing critique of the customs she both inhabited and dissected.
Her work reached a milestone when she became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, awarded for The Age of Innocence. This novel highlights the constraining rituals of 1870s New York society and remains a defining portrait of elegance laced with regret.
Wharton’s literary achievements span a wide canvas. The House of Mirth presents a tragic, vividly drawn character study of Lily Bart, navigating social expectations and the perils of genteel poverty in 1890s New York. In Ethan Frome, she explores rural hardship and emotional repression, contrasting sharply with her urban social dramas.
Her novella collection Old New York revisits the moral terrain of upper-class society, spanning decades and combining character studies with social commentary. Through these stories, she inevitably points back to themes and settings familiar from The Age of Innocence. Continuing her exploration of class and desire, The Glimpses of the Moon addresses marriage and social mobility in early 20th-century America. And in Summer, Wharton challenges societal norms with its rural setting and themes of sexual awakening and social inequality.
Beyond fiction, Wharton contributed compelling nonfiction and travel writing. The Decoration of Houses reflects her eye for design and architecture; Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort presents a compelling account of her wartime observations. As editor of The Book of the Homeless, she curated a moving, international collaboration in support of war refugees.
Wharton’s influence extended beyond writing. She designed her own country estate, The Mount, a testament to her architectural sensibility and aesthetic vision. The Mount now stands as an educational museum celebrating her legacy.
Throughout her career, Wharton maintained friendships and artistic exchanges with luminaries such as Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Theodore Roosevelt—reflecting her status as a respected and connected cultural figure.
Her literary legacy also includes multiple Nobel Prize nominations, underscoring her international recognition. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.
In sum, Edith Wharton remains celebrated for her unflinching, elegant prose, her psychological acuity, and her capacity to illuminate the unspoken constraints of society—from the glittering ballrooms of New York to quieter, more remote settings. Her wide-ranging work—novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, travel writing, essays—offers cultural insight, enduring emotional depth, and a piercing critique of the customs she both inhabited and dissected.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 13, 2016
Mrs. Lidcote has done enough "cutting" in her day to know when she is being "cut". Her friends and family tell her it's just her imagination, but she knows better. There was a lot of "cutting" in Edith Wharton's novels. Maybe it was a big part of New York high society back in the day. It actually happens everywhere in society, even with children, even in school, it still happens.
July 11, 2017
A brilliant, heart-wrenching encapsulation of changing attitudes to marriage and divorce, comparing the experiences of mother and daughter.
After divorce, Mrs Lidcote went into voluntary exile in Europe. She returns to NY, anxious about the wedding of her divorced daughter, Leila. The mother doesn’t know her place in the new order: her daughter is not shamed, so doesn’t need support. Worse, a shabby mother is an embarrassment in Leila’s elevated social circles. Mrs Lidcote begins to resent her own lost years, and wonder if it’s too late. Two people appear sympathetic to her predicaments: one tells tactful untruths to veil painful reality; the other is selfishly, subtly manipulative, using duplicity disguised as concern.
* “The past was bad enough, but the present and future were worse, because they were less comprehensible.”
* “Having so signally failed to be of use to Leila in other ways, she would at least serve her as a warning.”
* “Their relation seemed as comfortable as their furniture and as respectable as their balance at the bank.”
More Wharton Stories
I read this as one of twenty stories in The New York Stories of Edith Wharton , which I reviewed here.
Reading them one after the other made me notice her favoured ingredients, from which she selected a unique combination for each story, and which led me to concoct a recipe for Write Your Own Wharton Short Story, which I posted here.
After divorce, Mrs Lidcote went into voluntary exile in Europe. She returns to NY, anxious about the wedding of her divorced daughter, Leila. The mother doesn’t know her place in the new order: her daughter is not shamed, so doesn’t need support. Worse, a shabby mother is an embarrassment in Leila’s elevated social circles. Mrs Lidcote begins to resent her own lost years, and wonder if it’s too late. Two people appear sympathetic to her predicaments: one tells tactful untruths to veil painful reality; the other is selfishly, subtly manipulative, using duplicity disguised as concern.
* “The past was bad enough, but the present and future were worse, because they were less comprehensible.”
* “Having so signally failed to be of use to Leila in other ways, she would at least serve her as a warning.”
* “Their relation seemed as comfortable as their furniture and as respectable as their balance at the bank.”
More Wharton Stories
I read this as one of twenty stories in The New York Stories of Edith Wharton , which I reviewed here.
Reading them one after the other made me notice her favoured ingredients, from which she selected a unique combination for each story, and which led me to concoct a recipe for Write Your Own Wharton Short Story, which I posted here.
wishlist-f
July 16, 2022****************
The Old Maid: The 'Fifties 5 stars
Bunner Sisters 4 stars
Roman Fever 4 stars
Summer 4 stars
Xingu 3 stars
The House of Mirth 3 stars
The Age of Innocence 1 star
Ethan Frome 1 star
Autres Temps TBR
The Last Asset TBR
Expiation TBR
The Old Maid: The 'Fifties 5 stars
Bunner Sisters 4 stars
Roman Fever 4 stars
Summer 4 stars
Xingu 3 stars
The House of Mirth 3 stars
The Age of Innocence 1 star
Ethan Frome 1 star
Autres Temps TBR
The Last Asset TBR
Expiation TBR
June 3, 2018
Edith Wharton is a master writer. Her wit and rather wry observations and satire all shine through in this short read. She keeps you just aloof enough to see the bigger picture of society and just close enough to understand her characters. Great author who knew her craft!
July 31, 2017
such a sad story of a woman bound by convention to be shunned by society even as its attitides are changing
May 23, 2022
Entertaining listening 🎶🔰
Another will written romantic relationship adventure thriller short story by Edith Wharton about a mother coming back to New York City after her daughter's wedding to find nothing has changed in the time she has been gone. I would recommend this novella to readers of relationships novels 👍🔰. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do because of health issues. 2022 👒🗽🏭☺
Another will written romantic relationship adventure thriller short story by Edith Wharton about a mother coming back to New York City after her daughter's wedding to find nothing has changed in the time she has been gone. I would recommend this novella to readers of relationships novels 👍🔰. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do because of health issues. 2022 👒🗽🏭☺
September 21, 2021
muy bueno, pobre vieja, te amo edith wharton
February 25, 2017
Mrs. Lidcote has hastily returned from abroad upon learning that her daughter has gotten divorced and remarried. She remembers how shabbily she was treated by society after her own divorce, and wants to be there in her daughter's time of trial. As it happens, times have changed, and so have society's attitudes towards divorce. But has it changed enough to let Mrs. Lidcote back in?
September 8, 2015
A most excellent story.
How many of us have tried to read the meaning behind the words? We hardly dare to believe that all is well.
Reality, meaning, change and lack of it are all a part of this story.
How many of us have tried to read the meaning behind the words? We hardly dare to believe that all is well.
Reality, meaning, change and lack of it are all a part of this story.
January 1, 2016
I've read this in less than an hour while waiting for my hair to be done at the hair dresser's salon.. I find it easy and quick to read, depth in the analysis of the characters and the circumstances of the historical period they live in, but It didn't amaze me. Enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews