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Set in rural New England, «Ethan Frome» is the story of its title character who marries Zenobia, a nagging hypochondriac of a woman, and finds himself trapped in an unfulfilling life. When Zenobia's young cousin Mattie Silver comes to live with them, Frome falls in love with her. «Ethan Frome» is the story of forbidden love and its tragic consequences. In «Summer» we have the story of the sexual awakening of a young woman, Charity Royall. Charity, the daughter of mountain moonshiners, is adopted by a poor New England family and falls for Lucius Harney, an educated young man from the city. «Summer» is the story of a young girl coming to terms with her feelings and sexuality in an environment of overwhelming social pressure in early 20th century America. Readers will delight in this edition which combines two of Wharton's most popular works.

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The first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize, for her novel «The Age of Innocence», Edith Wharton was discouraged by her mother from pursuing her writing at an early age. Despite this she would go on to produce a prolific body of work which included many novels and short stories. Characteristic to her work is the subtle use of dramatic irony and having grown up in a prominent New York family she would become one the most astute critics of pre-World War I upper-class society. In the «Touchstone» we find the story of Stephen Glennard, who spurned the love of the tortured novelist Margaret Aubyn. When Margaret dies, Stephen, who is failing in his career, sees an opportunity to gain from her notoriety so that he may afford to marry his beautiful fiancée. In this short and charming work Wharton exhibits that true depth of love and human forgiveness.

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"The House of Mirth" is Edith Wharton's classic and tragic portrayal of Lily Bart, an intelligent New York socialite during the Victorian era, who seeks to secure a husband and a place in upper class society. Central to the theme of the novel is how the Victorian era offered women relatively few other alternatives to achieve upward social and economic mobility than through marriage. A classic depiction of a bygone era, «The House of Mirth» is one of Wharton finest literary achievements.

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Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton used her inside knowledge of upper class New York life in the early part of the 20th century as the basis for her 1905 novel, “The House of Mirth”. The novel is the classic and tragic portrayal of Lily Bart, an intelligent New York socialite during the Victorian era, who seeks to secure a husband and a place in the society life of New York’s upper class. Lily, who was raised to strive for a socially and economically prosperous marital union, finds herself at the edge of thirty, her youthful beauty fading and her matrimonial prospects dwindling. The novel follows Lily’s descent down the social ladder over a period of two years as she circles the margins of New York’s upper class drawing closer to what seems an inevitable loneliness. Central to the theme of the novel is how the Victorian era offered women relatively few other alternatives to achieve upward social and economic mobility than through marriage. A classic depiction of a bygone era, “The House of Mirth” is at once a detailed portrait of New York society life and a social satire which harshly criticizes the moral failings of the rich. This edition includes an introduction by Walter B. Rideout and a biographical afterword.

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First published in 1917, “Summer” is one of only two novels by Edith Wharton not set in the upper-class society of New York. It is instead set in New England and was very controversial at the time it was published as it is the story of the sexual awakening of a young woman, named Charity Royall. Charity, the daughter of mountain moonshiners, was abandoned by her poor parents and adopted by her small town’s most learned person, Lawyer Royall. Charity is unsatisfied and restless and spends her days yearning for a more exciting and luxurious life outside of North Dormer. She falls for Lucius Harney, an educated young architect visiting North Dormer from the city. Charity and Lucius begin an affair, much to the disapproval of Mr. Royall and Charity’s relationship with her guardian becomes darker and more complicated. “Summer” is a thought-provoking and ambiguous story of a young girl coming to terms with her feelings and sexuality, as well as a commentary on the impossible standards that are often applied to women’s behavior. The war between freedom and repression in the environment of overwhelming social pressure of early 20th century America continues to resonant today. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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First published in 1913, Edith Wharton’s “The Custom of the Country” tells the story of Undine Spragg, a girl from a Midwestern town with unquenchable social aspirations. Though Undine is narcissistic, pampered, and incredibly selfish, she is also a fascinating, vibrant, and beguiling heroine whose marital initiation into New York high society from its trade-wealthy fringes is only the beginning of her relentless plans. Undine is never satisfied with what she has and constantly hungers for more wealth, more prestige, and more luxury. Her search for these lofty goals takes her from New York to Europe and the apartments of the nouveau riche to ancient French estates. While Undine’s cleverness and single-mindedness ultimately gets her what she wants most, it comes at great cost to everyone else, such as her family, child, and many husbands. Through Undine’s restlessness and ambition, Wharton weaves an elaborate plot that renders a detailed depiction of upper class social behavior in the early twentieth century. By utilizing a character with inexorable greed in a novel of manners, Wharton explores the social customs of an emerging modern age and the changing role of women in society.

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First published in 1911, “Ethan Frome” is Edith Wharton’s tale of thwarted dreams and desires set in small New England town at the turn of the 20th century. When a young engineer is on assignment in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, he becomes fascinated by the deformed and troubled local, Ethan Frome. Framed through an extended flashback, the young engineer ultimately learns the tragic history of Ethan Frome when he is forced to take refuge at the man’s house during a winter storm. Frome, who is married to Zenobia, a nagging hypochondriac of a woman, finds himself trapped in an unfulfilling life. Zenobia’s young cousin Mattie Silver comes to live with them in order to help out around the farmhouse and Ethan sees an opportunity for happiness. When his wife begins to notice the growing attachment between Ethan and Mattie she plans to send her away, insisting she needs a more competent servant, which sets in motion a tragic set of circumstances for all involved. “Ethan Frome” remains to this day as one of Wharton’s finest literary accomplishments.

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A bestseller when it was originally published nearly a century ago, Wharton's first literary success was set amid the previously unexplored territory of fashionable, turn-of-the-century New York society, an area with which she was intimately familiar.The tragic love story reveals the destructive effects of wealth and social hypocrisy on Lily Bart, a ravishing beauty. Impoverished but well-born, Lily realizes a secure future depends on her acquiring a wealthy husband. Her downfall begins with a romantic indiscretion, intensifies with an accumulation of gambling debts, and climaxes in a maelstrom of social disasters.More a tale of social exclusion than of failed love, The House of Mirth reveals Wharton's compelling gifts as a storyteller and her clear-eyed observations of the savagery beneath the well-bred surface of high society. As with The Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome, this novel was also made into a successful motion picture.

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Perhaps the best-known and most popular of Edith Wharton's novels, Ethan Frome is widely considered her masterpiece. Set against a bleak New England background, the novel tells of Frome, his ailing wife Zeena and her companion Mattie Silver, superbly delineating the characters of each as they are drawn relentlessly into a deep-rooted domestic struggle.Burdened by poverty and spiritually dulled by a loveless marriage to an older woman. Frome is emotionally stirred by the arrival of a youthful cousin who is employed as household help. Mattie's presence not only brightens a gloomy house but stirs long-dormant feelings in Ethan. Their growing love for one another, discovered by an embittered wife, presages an ending to this grim tale that is both shocking and savagely ironic.

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Edith Wharton (1862–1937) wrote carefully structured fiction that probed the psychological and social elements guiding the behavior of her characters. Her portrayals of upper-class New Yorkers were unrivaled. The Age of Innocence, for which Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize in 1920, is one of her most memorable novels.At the heart of the story are three people whose entangled lives are deeply affected by the tyrannical and rigid requirements of high society. Newland Archer, a restrained young attorney, is engaged to the lovely May Welland but falls in love with May's beautiful and unconventional cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. Despite his fear of a dull marriage to May, Archer goes through with the ceremony — persuaded by his own sense of honor, family, and societal pressures. He continues to see Ellen after the marriage, but his dreams of living a passionate life ultimately cease.The novel's lucid and penetrating prose style, vivid characterization, and its rendering of the social history of an era have long made it a favorite with readers and critics alike.

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