The Greater Inclination

Description

The Carstyle house stood but a few yards back from the brick-paved Millbrook street, and the garden was a very small place, unless measured, as Mrs. Carstyle probably intended that it should be, by the extent of her daughter's charms. These were so considerable that Vibart walked back and forward half a dozen times between the porch and the gate, before he discovered the limitations of the Carstyle domain. It was not till Irene had accused him of being sarcastic and had confided in him that "the girls" were furious with her for letting him talk to her so long at his aunt's garden-party, that he awoke to the exiguity of his surroundings.

---

Customer Reviews

Inclined To Read
Edith Wharton (January 24, 1862 - August 11, 1937) wrote the stories contained in "The Greater Inclination" and had the volume published in March of 1899. In many ways this was her first work of literature. Mrs. Wharton had written "Fast and Loose" in 1876, it wasn't published until 1938, after she had died. She also had privately published a book of poetry titled "Verses" in 1878, and published a non-fictional work titled "The Decoration of Houses" which she co-authored with Ogden Codman in 1897. Thus, while she was no stranger to writing this was an important start to her career as an author of literature.

"The Greater Inclination" consists of 8 works, 7 works of short fiction, and one two-act play. It is a somewhat diverse collection with several stories which touch on aspects of human relationships and interactions, a very dark story which delves into the psyche, and a light and humorous story included as well. In all, it is a very strong first effort and well worth reading. The stories included are:

"The Muse's Tragedy" - In this story, the young man Danyers falls for Mrs. Anerton even before he meets her, because he believes that she is the Silvia of which the famous poet Vincent Rendle wrote. He learns what he can of her, and travels to Europe, though far from certain that he will encounter her there. He is fortunate though, and they do meet. For a month they are together at Villa d' Este, and they agree to meet again in Venice after six weeks apart. The story finishes with a letter from Mrs. Anerton written after their meeting in Venice, where she explains to Danvers her feelings and the reasons for not returning to Venice after promising to do so.

"A Journey" - This is a dark, almost Poe-like story of a woman returning from Colorado to New York City with her dying husband. Through her thoughts, we learn how they grew apart when her husband became sick, and how they travelled to Colorado for his health, but now that the doctors have given up and have allowed him to return to New York to die. It is on the morning of the last day of their travels where she discovers that he has passed away, and her fear of being put off the train with his lifeless body causes her to pretend to others that he is merely very sick. As the day slowly passes, she becomes more and more nervous about being found out.

"The Pelican" - The narrator tells the humorous story of Mrs. Amyot, a woman who decides she must give lectures in order to pay for the expense of raising her son and putting him through school after his father has died when he was just six months of age. Unfortunately, Mrs. Amyot's lectures are about what she wants to say, more than they are about the facts of the subject. As the years pass, the narrator encounters Mrs. Amyot again and again, she always tells him how nervous he makes her, and how she is doing these lectures for her son. She even has the narrator help her in preparing lectures when her popularity has waned, and he helps her find new audiences out west. Many years later, he finds she is still lecturing, still supposedly for the benefit of her son. He attends her lecture one more time, this time with an unusual guest.

"Souls Belated" - Lydia is travelling with the man she loves, Gannett, after having left her husband, Tillotson, and receiving notice that he was divorcing her. They are at first unable to discuss the situation, each seeking refuge elsewhere, he in reading, she in observing others and hoping to not be alone while travelling. Eventually they are able to speak, and they try to setup their new life together. However, they are held back by their circumstances. Though able to live a lie initially, due to others being focused on another couple (the Lintons, who are actually Lord Trevenna and Mrs. Cope) who are in similar circumstances, eventually through a confrontation with Mrs. Cope Lydia learns that her secret can easily be found out. Again she and Gannett search for a solution for how they can be together without being forced to live a lie, or is it better to end their relationship?

"A Coward" - Vibart meets Irene Carstyle's mother whose manner tells him a lot about herself. She seems to resent her husband's decisions which have led to her position, but he learns that the main decision Mr. Carstyle made was very honourable and even heroic. He makes himself a frequent guest of the Carstyle's, more to see Mr. Carstyle than Irene. When an unusual event occurs where Mr. Carstyle attempts to stop what he thinks are runaway horses and is then disappointed when they are not, Vibart learns the story of what happened in Mr. Carstyle's past to make him want to be heroic.

"The Twilight of the God" - This is a short play which opens with Isabel reading and Lucius Warland returning from sailing. Lucius has just learned that he needs to go to Washington and is surprised to find Marion Raynor has gone before he can say goodbye. Marion has left the list of people who are coming to dinner, and Lucius is very excited to learn that John Oberville is on it. Oberville is a man of great power and connections who could get Lucius the position that he wants. He also is a man who was in love with, and who was loved by Isabel, Lucius's wife, and Lucius also learns the reason why they didn't marry even though they both loved each other.

"A Cup of Cold Water" - Woburn intends to marry Miss Talcott and her wealth. He borrows money and then steals it when he loses in the market. He is about $50,000 in debt due to what is essentially theft, and he is about to be found out from an audit; so he decides to leave town. He decides to meet Miss Talcott one last time, but is surprised when he arrives at the ball that those who are there appear so unimportant. He observes her from afar, before giving up the falseness of that life. Later, as he stays in a cheap hotel to avoid spending a night on the ship he is taking to escape, he hears the crying of a woman (Ruby Glenn) and the click of a revolver, which causes him to try to help her when she appears on the verge of committing suicide. In his desire to help her, he forgets his own difficulties for a brief period, and ultimately her story helps him to decide what to do in dealing with his own personal crisis.

"The Portrait" - A group is discussing the pictures of Lillo, and his failure with his portrait of Vard, when Lillo himself is introduced. Later, he leaves with the narrator and discusses the circumstances of his failure, and why it was done on purpose.

2009-01-07 | Dave_42 (Australia) | Helpful Votes: 9 | Rating: 4

---

Sanctuary (Classic Reprint)

Description

IT is not often that youth allows itself to feel undividedly happy: the sensation is too nluch the result of selection and eliInination to be within reach of the awakening clutch on life. But Kate Orme, for once, had yielded herself to happiness, letting it penneate every faculty _as a spring rain soaks into a germinating nleado"v. - - There ,vas nothing to account for this sudden sense of beatitude; but 'was it not this precisely ,vhich made it so irresistible, so overwheln1ing? There had been, within the last two months-since her engagement to Denis Peyton-no distinct addition to the sum of her happiness, and no possibility~ she "vould have affirmed, of adding perceptibly to a total already incalculable. In, vardlyand outwardly the conditions of her [ S ]

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.

Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the difficult to read text. Read books online for free at http://www.forgottenbooks.org

---

Customer Reviews

An Unusual Story
"Sanctuary" is a novella by Edith Wharton, published in 1903. From what I have read, the plot did not cause any surprises at the time, but today the story seems rather unusual. It is a story which deals with ethics, morality, and family honor. While there is nothing particularly unusual in that, some of the choices made by the main character, Kate, seem rather drastic today, and one has a difficult time imagining that any woman today would make similar choices. The story is divided into two parts.

In the first part, we get to know Kate Orme, a woman who is engaged to Denis Payton. She is a woman who has been sheltered from the realities of the world, and comes to learn of an unpleasant situation involving Arthur, Denis' half-brother after he has passed on. Through learning about the situation and how Arthur's family handles it, Kate is upset with Denis and pushes him to do the moral thing. Arthur mother comes to talk with her, and Kate learns that it isn't just Denis who is willing to protect the family name regardless of the act. Lastly, she learns from her own father that scandal's have been covered up in her own family. After a bit of soul-searching, Kate comes to the conclusion that the most moral thing for her to do is to marry Denis so that she can try to remove the character taint which his yet to be conceived son have. This decision appears to be very unusual and it is doubtful that anyone today would reason in such a way. Kate also seems to ignore that she herself must be tainted since her own father and family also has displayed moral weakness.

Part two picks up several years later. We learn that Denis passed on when their son, Dick was young, and that he squandered most of their money. We also learn that Kate has put her own interests aside to get Dick the best education she can. Dick is starting his career and an ethical dilemma arises which has Kate worried. She is suspicious of the motives of those around Dick, and becomes worried that he is making the wrong choice. Everything seems to be pushing him towards the wrong path, and the similarities between his reaction and that of his father Denis when he was trying to hide the truth from her are readily apparent.

It will likely be difficult for many modern-day readers to understand the motivation of Kate in this story, but that is due to changes in our society, and not a flaw in the book itself. Nevertheless, I don't think this book is quite as good as Edith Wharton's previously published works and so I round this one down to three stars. It is still worth reading, especially for those who enjoy her other works, but it isn't quite as accessible.

2009-11-01 | Dave_42 (Australia) | Helpful Votes: 4 | Rating: 3

---

Sacrifice and secrets
Edith Wharton's writing wallows in moral struggles and societal pressures, usually about adultery and social-climbing. But she tries a different approach for the novella "Sanctuary," a story that is thought-provoking and well-written, but feels more like the outline to a full-length novel than a story in its own right.

Kate Orme is wrapped up in her idyllic engagement to Denis, when a woman claiming to be his dissolute brother's wife kills herself and her child. To Kate's shock, Denis confesses that the woman was, but to avoid having a low-class person in the family, he suppressed evidence and lied. Even worse, he feels no guilt because he considers it worth the sacrifice.

Kate breaks off the engagement, but to protect any child of Denis' from his hypocrisies, she marries him. Many years later, Denis is dead, and their young son Dick is a blossoming architect about to enter a prestigious contest. But then a friend of his dies tragically, and leaves Dick his brilliant architectural plans... to enter in the contest as his own. Now Kate must see if her careful upbringing will make Dick do the right thing, or if he will follow in his father's footsteps.

Most of Wharton's books are wrapped up in ethical dilemmas or one kind or another, but "Sanctuary" tackles a very different kind of problem. And Wharton does a good job spinning out a sense of suspense, all about a young man who could tip either way, and inspiring disgust and outrage at Denis' weak, whiny defense of his crimes.

Sadly, the second half reads like Wharton was sketching out an enlarged outline for a novel, but got bored and just published it as-is. Details are sketchy, as is the society that these people live in, and more than two decades are skipped over instantly. Little of the storyline is fleshed out except for Kate's (seemingly endless) angst, which trickles on throughout way too many of the few pages.

Kate herself isn't easy to relate to -- she marries wussy Denis for a kid that might or might not be born, and spends most of the book torturing herself over Dick's future choices. She comes across as naive at best, manic at worst. Dick himself is a far more interesting character, since he exists in the grey area that most human beings inhabit -- he's a partying, slightly slackerish guy, but essentially good at heart.

"Sanctuary" tackles the grey areas and hypocrises of many "upright" people, but the second half drizzles off into a lot of bad angst and extreme reactions. Interesting, but it feels half-written.

2007-06-02 | ea_solinas (MD USA) | Helpful Votes: 7 | Rating: 3

---

Are Flaws in Morality Passed From Father to Son By Nature?
In Part One, Kate Orme discovers shortly before her marriage to Denis, that her fiance has covered up the fact that his dissolute brother was secretly married to a lower class woman, and had a child with her. By this deception Denis prevents the woman from inheriting her husband's estate, and is able to hold on to his own inheritance, resulting in the suicide of the woman and child. Kate is repelled by her finance's deception, but marries Denis anyway. In Part Two of the novel, many years have passed. Denis has died at a young age, leaving Kate alone to raise their son, Dick who is now an adult. When Dick is confronted with a moral dilemma in his professional life, Kate waits to see whether the father's 'moral' flaw has been passed to her son, or if her nurture of her son has been strong enough to cure it. The novel is beautifully written and exquisitely nuanced, yet the difficulty for the modern reader is how to react to the story in our own modern age of moral equivalency. A modern reader may view Kate's extreme reaction to the moral dilemma provided to her son to be overblown.

2004-10-20 | palmtree2000 (West Orange, NJ USA) | Helpful Votes: 11 | Rating: 4

---

So smooth that the reader is instantly ensnared
Edith Wharton was born in 1986 to an upper class family in New York City. She could trace her ancestry back three centuries, and was expected to live an aristocratic life. She was educated at home, and married Teddy Wharton in 1885, settling into her role as society marm. Her marriage ended with the discovery of Teddy's affair in 1913, and Edith set herself free to publish many books, of which the most well known is probably The Age Of Innocence. Edith Wharton was a contemporary of Teddy Roosevelt, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Henry James. The quality of her writing is just beginning to be appreciated.

Kate Orme is a young woman engaged to Denis Peyton. They are both aristocrats, and as such are expected to remain in rigid roles, with the man shielding the woman from all upsets. When Denis confesses to a despicable act to protect his family's name involving the death of a young, pregnant woman who was secretly married to his brother, Kate is shattered by the exposure of this act. She decides to marry Denis anyway to protect his future children, and sets out to become the perfect mother. She has a son, who she raises by herself after Denis' death, but this son seems to have inherited the faulty character gene of his father. When a situation arises to test the meddle of her son, Kate has her doubts as to her ability as a mother:

"As she sat there in the radius of lamp-light which, for so many evenings, had held Dick and herself in a charmed circle of tenderness, she saw that her love for her boy had come to be merely a kind of extended egotism. Love had narrowed instead of widening her, had rebuilt between herself and life the very walls which, years and years before, she had laid low with bleeding fingers. It was horrible... How she had come to sacrifice everything to the one passion of ambition for her boy..."

Wharton is, obviously, a first rate writer who has gone without accolades for far too long because of her gender. It is fitting that her works be rediscovered by a wider audience. Her insight into gender differences and difficulties is far ahead of her time...a time when women were relegated to narrow roles of motherhood because they were thought to be of inferior intellect. Aside from that, Wharton's writing is so smooth that the reader is instantly ensnared. A great read.

...

2002-10-04 (Oregon, WI USA) | Helpful Votes: 12 | Rating: 5

---

The Custom of the Country

Description

The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Drama / General; Drama / American; Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Humorous; Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Family Life;

---

Customer Reviews

Good
Difficult one to assess. One of the 'literary' works, and I came into this one with an assumption of complexity and excellence in writing that was only partially born out. It's overall an effective work, however, and renders the core characterizationg effectively. Thinking back to the novel after reading it, the point that emerges clearly is how the protagonist grapples with and manipulates American class structures from personal ambition and general access to resources. It not a hugely distinguishable personality that stands memorably beyond the story, and in a way the lack of true complexity weakens the force of the book. There are certainly advantages to tying the main psychology so closely to the unfolding of events. It's elements like this that linked with engaging prose and control over time that make for a good energy to reading the work.

The strongest critique in the novel and the point where it's most compelling is it's representation of marriage in the early twentieth century class structure. The fetishes of bourgeois marriage are well presented, particularly the ritualized protestations of love and respectability that bound fundamentally mercenary structures. In exposing general social hypocrisy and framing dramatic situations that specifically embody such facets the novel succeeds, and it must have been a sensation when published in 1913. It hasn't aged entirely well, however, and in some ways suffers from the specificity of its scenario. Certainly basic issues with marriage, capitalism and aristocracy remain relevant, but the book lacks a certain force, a necessary drama that would lift this work into truly great literature.

I feel at this point that I've been somewhat too harsh, after all this book is effective both in the core mechanics of constructing the narrative as well as rendering a biting social message without resorting to cliche or preaching. It delivers a strong central character and a plot that's unique as well as relevant. Still, measured on the grounds of sheer engrossment with the process of reading or endurance for the force of the social critique I see Wharton's novel as second-tier to the best.

2010-06-13 | Raskolnikov (The American Midwest) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

Edith Wharton- Continually proving how beautiful words can be
Edith Wharton uses language in such beautiful ways, and to read her prose is a literary experience to crown all others. Her similes and metaphors are genius, incredible. Her acute sense of humor is there as well, for example when she speaks of Mrs. Spragg's having more to fear now than simply the horse (the horse instructor had eyes upon her daughter). Her social commentary is sharp, and classification for this writer as an anthropologist is correct. It all comes together in one pivotal scene in which "the custom of the country" is specifically mentioned, and we recognize the relationships between men and women as they stand, and how women cannot truly be blamed for their faults in a society in which they are allowed to practice no crafts of their own. Custom's protagonist has ample faults to be sure. She is selfish and lives life only looking to acquire the next best thing, but as a reader, one surely never comes to hate her. She is an interesting character study, even if her motives are always one dimensional. One almost wonders at her lack of sympathy, and can only grieve at the wake of sorrow left in her trail. This book is beautiful and exceptional! - made me think of Henry James. Also amusing pondering the differences between Americans and our European equivalents and the differences that living in this country has instilled in us.

2010-01-11 (Manhattan) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

---

late mailing
Even though it was within your parameters, it took a real long time for the book to arrive

2009-10-22 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

---

If you read one Wharton novel it should be this one.
THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY is a great novel, arguably Wharton's finest, although she is better known for THE AGE OF INNOCENCE and THE HOUSE OF MIRTH. The primary character Undine Spragg is certainly one of the strongest and most significant in American literature, but this novel has many interesting, poignant, and exasperating secondary characters such as Paul Marvell, Elmer Moffatt, and Raymond de Chelles. THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY is a novel about the clash of cultures, the war between and among the sexes and generations, and the dichotomy between the old and new world as represented by Europe and America. It is also an insightful and incisive examination of selfishness and insensitivity in the person of Undine, a small town girl with big ambitions, whose sense of self entitlement and voracious appetite for improving her station in life will leave a string of unfortunate victims in her wake.

THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY has a riveting plot, is wonderfully written, and gives us a fascinating picture of high society both in early 20th century New York and in France, where the Nouveau riche mix and mingle to various degrees of success with established families in America and the nobility in France. Given Edith Wharton's background and experiences both in the States and abroad, every page is written with an air of authority and the resounding ring of truth. If I were asked to recommend one Wharton novel above all others, it would be this one.

2009-06-23 (Manalapan, NJ) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

---

Age of Not-So-Innocent
Undine Spragg is considered to be one of literature's most disturbingly evil characters. No doubt, Wharton could create the most dastardly of female villains--consider Bertha in "House of Mirth." This novel, an earlier one than "Age of Innocence" but later than "House of Mirth" is absolutely a masterpiece and I was stunned to realize I had not read this great American novel. I was pretty sure before that Edith Wharton was my favorite American author, now I'm certain. This is brilliance.

The story follows the young, spoiled, Midwestern beauty Undine from her embarrassing first moments assailing sophisticated New York society to her tainted conquests of society in France and finally New York again in the last moments of the golden age just prior to World War I (which so many authors, Thomas Mann and Colette tell us was the absolute end of a fairy-tale like era.) Wharton shows us the era on the cusp of change; motor cars are commonplace and broughams and landaus "lumbering"--telephones, elevators and subways are woven completely into New York life, heralding the 20th Century's revolutionary changes to come. Undine is as beautiful, captivating and cold as the soulless water nymph she is NOT named after--here, a delightful bit of Wharton's irony--THIS Undine is named after a patent hair product created by an enterprising grandparent.

Undine is clever in focusing on what she needs and wants, though completely uneducated and resistant to literature, arts and any science that does not immediately gratify her wishes. She is the PERFECT portrait of a "borderline personality disorder" who uses and abuses people as a means to her satisfaction, and who is constantly coveting the next, better thing that someone else has. She destroys her husband (a model for the later Newland Archer) and nearly destroys a few other people in her quest for celebrity, unbridled spending and having everything her way. The episodes in the book could come right out of "Dr. Laura"--parents fearful of their own child and giving in to their every whim, neglected and abandoned children used as pawns in divorce, lying, deception, retail therapy gone wild, serial divorce and general destruction of the institution of family values.

Undine matures only in her ability to "go slow", as Mrs. Heeny puts it, or to delay her gratification by making at least a few chess moves ahead on the board of her self-absorbed game. Her ability to blame others, never herself and to lay destruction in her path is a thread that never varies in the novel's unfolding.

The interesting thing is that Wharton, far from burning the seed corn of her bank of ideas, is astonishingly economical and uses all her characters in her novels over and over again, re-costuming them on her play stage and recycling the scenery. Undine has elements of Bertha (House of Mirth) and is the "anti-Ellen-Olenska (an exact opposite.) She has some of May Archer's stolid stupidity but surprising insight when it deals with her own survival. She has Lily Bart's heedlessness and willfulness. Elmer Moffatt, her foil and match, can be recognized in Beaufort from "Age of Innocence." It's fascinating to watch the similar characters appear in a new drama on Wharton's stage, and she is not only a master at drama but also a keen sociologist and anthropologist. We peep into French nobility, New York society and the demi-monde, all drawn with her exquisite sense of customs and mores.

If you love "Age of Innocence" and "House of Mirth" you can't help but love this novel. I'm not sure if it isn't her greatest--and it is almost on a par with Eliot's earlier "Middlemarch"--of which Virginia Woolff said was "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people." "The Custom of the Country" was not only written for grown-up people, but is as fresh and modern and as filled with the same dilemmas people face today as in 1913.

2009-03-18 (Middletown, DE USA) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 5

---

The Reef

Description

Anna, an American widow living in France, has renewed her relationship with her first love, diplomat George Darrow. But on his way to her chateau, where he hopes to consolidate their marriage plans, Darrow encounters Sophy, who is as vibrant and spontaneous as Anna is reserved and restrained.

---

Customer Reviews

The pain of passion
You could say that "The Reef" has two themes -- that you have to risk great pain to experience great passion, and the questions of infidelity, love and class and how they clash.

It also happens to be the brilliant Edith Wharton at her most contemplative, since the entire dramatic storyline takes place in a love square at a rural French chateau. While "The Reef" is a slow-moving affair, the hauntingly poetic prose that Wharton employs -- and the painful questions it raises -- are worth immersing your brain into.

Charles Darrow has been reunited with his first love Anna, now a widow living in France. He plans to propose to her, but on the train receives a telegram telling him not to come until the thirtieth of the month. Angry and hurt (he's kind of a playboy brat), he salves his hurt feelings by escorting pretty Sophy Viner (Alicia Witt), a feisty young girl hoping to get a job on the stage, around Paris for awhile. Unsurprisingly, Sophy's vibrant personality leads to a brief affair.

A few months later, Charles and Anna have made up their differences, and their romance is back on track. But when Charles arrives at Anna's mother-in-law's chateau, he learns that her daughter's new governess is none other than Sophy. To make this whole scenario even more surreal, Charles' ex-lover is now engaged to Anna's stepson -- and both Anna and the stepson are unaware of what happened. But though Sophy and Charles try to keep their shared past a secret, the truth threatens to ruin all four of them.

Yeah, it sounds a bit like a soap opera in period dress. It's only because of Wharton's skill that, instead of a cheap tawdry story, "The Reef" becomes a languid, sun-washed study of sexual double-standards, class, and repressed emotion. The entire novel is awash in a seemingly endless sea of contemplations -- many of the characters linger for pages over their pasts, their conflicted feelings, and the secrets they hide from one another.

But it's also a study of tough relationship questions -- should infidelity be forgiven, and at what stage of a possible relationship does it become infidelity? And if someone wrongs you, can you trust them again?

It's also beautifully written -- Wharton's slow, stately prose is filled with exquisite turns of phrase and beautifully evocative images. Even the most mundane places painted with words as if on a canvas ("The sun lay pleasantly on its brown walls, on the scattered books and flowers in old porcelain vases"). Much of the narrative is wrapped up in the slowly shifting inner feelings, tiny gestures and veiled comments of the characters, so that half of the most important confrontations seem to happen in a sort of code.

Charles is a rather flawed male lead -- he's weak, flirtatious and easily upset, and seems to regard Anna postponing their meeting as being more inconsiderate than his affair with someone else. The women's roles are far more compelling, though. Anna is a strong, wealthy woman who is trying to uncork her own intense feelings so she can fully appreciate life, and Sophy is her polar opposite -- a vibrant, joyous young girl who lacks the resources to enjoy life as she wishes.

A lesser author would have crashed on "The Reef," but in Edith Wharton's hands it becomes a powerful, vaguely tragic love quadrangle. Definitely worth reading, though it slows to a crawl at times.

2009-10-05 | ea_solinas (MD USA) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 4

---

The pain of passion
You could say that "The Reef" has two themes -- that you have to risk great pain to experience great passion, and the questions of infidelity, love and class and how they clash.

It also happens to be the brilliant Edith Wharton at her most contemplative, since the entire dramatic storyline takes place in a love square at a rural French chateau. While "The Reef" is a slow-moving affair, the hauntingly poetic prose that Wharton employs -- and the painful questions it raises -- are worth immersing your brain into.

Charles Darrow has been reunited with his first love Anna, now a widow living in France. He plans to propose to her, but on the train receives a telegram telling him not to come until the thirtieth of the month. Angry and hurt (he's kind of a playboy brat), he salves his hurt feelings by escorting pretty Sophy Viner (Alicia Witt), a feisty young girl hoping to get a job on the stage, around Paris for awhile. Unsurprisingly, Sophy's vibrant personality leads to a brief affair.

A few months later, Charles and Anna have made up their differences, and their romance is back on track. But when Charles arrives at Anna's mother-in-law's chateau, he learns that her daughter's new governess is none other than Sophy. To make this whole scenario even more surreal, Charles' ex-lover is now engaged to Anna's stepson -- and both Anna and the stepson are unaware of what happened. But though Sophy and Charles try to keep their shared past a secret, the truth threatens to ruin all four of them.

Yeah, it sounds a bit like a soap opera in period dress. It's only because of Wharton's skill that, instead of a cheap tawdry story, "The Reef" becomes a languid, sun-washed study of sexual double-standards, class, and repressed emotion. The entire novel is awash in a seemingly endless sea of contemplations -- many of the characters linger for pages over their pasts, their conflicted feelings, and the secrets they hide from one another.

But it's also a study of tough relationship questions -- should infidelity be forgiven, and at what stage of a possible relationship does it become infidelity? And if someone wrongs you, can you trust them again?

It's also beautifully written -- Wharton's slow, stately prose is filled with exquisite turns of phrase and beautifully evocative images. Even the most mundane places painted with words as if on a canvas ("The sun lay pleasantly on its brown walls, on the scattered books and flowers in old porcelain vases"). Much of the narrative is wrapped up in the slowly shifting inner feelings, tiny gestures and veiled comments of the characters, so that half of the most important confrontations seem to happen in a sort of code.

Charles is a rather flawed male lead -- he's weak, flirtatious and easily upset, and seems to regard Anna postponing their meeting as being more inconsiderate than his affair with someone else. The women's roles are far more compelling, though. Anna is a strong, wealthy woman who is trying to uncork her own intense feelings so she can fully appreciate life, and Sophy is her polar opposite -- a vibrant, joyous young girl who lacks the resources to enjoy life as she wishes.

A lesser author would have crashed on "The Reef," but in Edith Wharton's hands it becomes a powerful, vaguely tragic love quadrangle. Definitely worth reading, though it slows to a crawl at times.

2009-04-27 | ea_solinas (MD USA) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 5

---

The pain of passion
You could say that "The Reef" has two themes -- that you have to risk great pain to experience great passion, and the questions of infidelity, love and class and how they clash.

It also happens to be the brilliant Edith Wharton at her most contemplative, since the entire dramatic storyline takes place in a love square at a rural French chateau. While "The Reef" is a slow-moving affair, the hauntingly poetic prose that Wharton employs -- and the painful questions it raises -- are worth immersing your brain into.

Charles Darrow has been reunited with his first love Anna, now a widow living in France. He plans to propose to her, but on the train receives a telegram telling him not to come until the thirtieth of the month. Angry and hurt (he's kind of a playboy brat), he salves his hurt feelings by escorting pretty Sophy Viner (Alicia Witt), a feisty young girl hoping to get a job on the stage, around Paris for awhile. Unsurprisingly, Sophy's vibrant personality leads to a brief affair.

A few months later, Charles and Anna have made up their differences, and their romance is back on track. But when Charles arrives at Anna's mother-in-law's chateau, he learns that her daughter's new governess is none other than Sophy. To make this whole scenario even more surreal, Charles' ex-lover is now engaged to Anna's stepson -- and both Anna and the stepson are unaware of what happened. But though Sophy and Charles try to keep their shared past a secret, the truth threatens to ruin all four of them.

Yeah, it sounds a bit like a soap opera in period dress. It's only because of Wharton's skill that, instead of a cheap tawdry story, "The Reef" becomes a languid, sun-washed study of sexual double-standards, class, and repressed emotion. The entire novel is awash in a seemingly endless sea of contemplations -- many of the characters linger for pages over their pasts, their conflicted feelings, and the secrets they hide from one another.

But it's also a study of tough relationship questions -- should infidelity be forgiven, and at what stage of a possible relationship does it become infidelity? And if someone wrongs you, can you trust them again?

It's also beautifully written -- Wharton's slow, stately prose is filled with exquisite turns of phrase and beautifully evocative images. Even the most mundane places painted with words as if on a canvas ("The sun lay pleasantly on its brown walls, on the scattered books and flowers in old porcelain vases"). Much of the narrative is wrapped up in the slowly shifting inner feelings, tiny gestures and veiled comments of the characters, so that half of the most important confrontations seem to happen in a sort of code.

Charles is a rather flawed male lead -- he's weak, flirtatious and easily upset, and seems to regard Anna postponing their meeting as being more inconsiderate than his affair with someone else. The women's roles are far more compelling, though. Anna is a strong, wealthy woman who is trying to uncork her own intense feelings so she can fully appreciate life, and Sophy is her polar opposite -- a vibrant, joyous young girl who lacks the resources to enjoy life as she wishes.

A lesser author would have crashed on "The Reef," but in Edith Wharton's hands it becomes a powerful, vaguely tragic love quadrangle. Definitely worth reading, though it slows to a crawl at times.

2009-03-21 | ea_solinas (MD USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

---

Miss Manners
So, this is Edith Wharton! Miss Manners, you say----like watching a bunch of stiff English folks dance the minuet in an over-stuffed drawing room. Well, yeah, but! There's this thing she does with that drill. You, know, it's the way she uses it to penetrate the deepest recesses of her character's minds, three, in particular. There's Darrow, the handsome man-of-the-world eligible bachelor. Upon first meeting, you'll wonder if there's any there there. Wharton's drill reveals all. There's also, the widow Anna, Darrow's intended. When Anna discovers that Darrow once had a dalliance with Sophy, her daughter's governess, she becomes, as the Italians say, outside of her self. Here, Wharton's drill work is akin to watching a colonoscopy on the brain. While she never really leaves her house, never raises her voice, never moves more than a few muscles of her exquisite face, what we see going on in her brain has more twists, turns, and switchbacks than the car chase scene in the French Connection. Next to Anna and Darrow, Sophy presents with quiet dignity. Yes, she has had this affair with Darrow. Yes, she is of a lower class. But, no, she is not sorry for what she did. And, she is not about to sell her soul for the bourgeoisie existence so valued by Anna and Darrow. She's the most honest of the Wharton characters, and the one most difficult to analyze. One wrong move with the Sophy character, and you could easily get pulp fiction. Instead, Miss Manners drills out a masterpiece.

2008-11-20 (Loveladies, NJ United States) | Helpful Votes: 5 | Rating: 5

---

wonderful book, terrific edition
This is an exquisitely written and fascinating novel, a real bridge from the Victorian style, structure, and values, to a more modern sensibility. And the Everyman's hardcover edition is beautifully designed, just the right size, even comes with a bookmark ribbon, and is priced comfortably, especially with amazon's discount. My book club chose THE REEF for this month, and I'm so glad -- had always meant to read Edith Wharton and now want to read much more of her.

2008-10-28 (Maine) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

---

Bunner Sisters

Description

Edith Wharton (1862 - 1937) was a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist. Bunner Sisters is a novel about the life of two women, who owned a shop called Bunner Sisters in New York, "in the days when New York's traffic moved at the pace of the drooping horse-car".

---

Customer Reviews

Not your typical serialized magazine romance
Edith Wharton, one of my favorite writers, always amazes me with the deftness of her narrative gifts (suspense, characterization, storyline, plot, point-of-view) in achieving a subtle, powerful message.

I've always suspected that Wharton's choice of subject matter was driven by her repulsion to the overly sentimental fiction produced for the female magazine readers of her day -- serialized romances illustrating blunt moral cliches with improbably happy endings, all completely remote from the realities of life.

In this story, 2 mediocre seamstresses who literally crank out a living selling pinked flounces, buttons, sewing notions, and millinery trims find their mundane but stable routines disturbed by charming, mysterious clockmaker Herman Ramy, who awakens their romantic yearnings. In the typical romance of Wharton's day, the elder sister Ann Eliza would sacrifice her dreams for the bliss of the younger Evelina, and everyone would live happily ever after.

But Wharton skewers the cliche and delivers a razor-sharp observation of the realities of the urban working-class, complete with a scathing indictment on how society treats women over 30 years of age. This story's power lies in showing how destructive sentimental notions of womanhood are to individuals who don't realize their own strengths.

(I read the free online version of this story via the Gutenberg Project.)

2009-07-08 | pseudo intellectual (San Diego, CA United States) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

---

Wharton writes like no other I have read!
It was the play version of Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome that pushed me to read more of her wonderful books. What has intrigued me is her writing style. She will go for pages without much happening, but you learn an awful lot in those few pages.

Edith Wharton's Bunner Sisters takes place in New York, 1916 where hard times have fallen upon two sisters who run a shabby little dressmaker's shop adjacent to their dwelling. The elder sister, Ann Eliza, and her younger sister Evelina have encountered a sickly, but educated clockmaker who sells her a clock. At first, knowledge of his personality and previous lifestyle are unknown to the sisters, but they slowly befriend the lonely man and his visits to the home are frequent thoughout the next few months. He becomes a part of their lives and his existence is with some mystery. His interest to one of the sisters moves the story in another direction and into another phase of their lives.

The writing style of Wharton is unlike others, as she uses words that not only describe a scene in an era or condition, but with descriptive phrases that depict feelings, moods, attitudes, and mystery. She has given the reader just enough information about the man to carry the story forward without revealing too much, to know something is coming up. The air of mysterious is always around as we learn about the old man, his relationship with the sisters and the confidence they have in him. You will learn the symbolic references to time, age and transition, as the clock tic tocks and winds.

This is a wonderful read on the socio-economic hard times during the era, the smaller run dressmaking industry, and mostly, the relationships between three people and the care between two sisters. Bunner Sisters is a novelette. Like any other Wharton short novel, this one is filled with mysterious interest! .....Rizzo

2009-06-28 (Denver, CO) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

---

Unexpected and emotional
Good short novel about two spinster sisters who run a sewing shop together. The plot emphasizes how a seemingly insignificant act. like buying a birthday present, can have enormous consequences in the future.
It first startsout as a pleasant account of simple lives. However, the path the story takes becomes unexpected and emotional. Worth reading.

2007-04-27 (Georgia) | Helpful Votes: 8 | Rating: 4

---

Works of Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome, Sanctuary, The Custom of the Country, Summer & more (mobi)

Description

This collection was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices. It is indexed alphabetically, chronologically and by category, making it easier to access individual books, stories and poems. This collection offers lower price, the convenience of a one-time download, and it reduces the clutter in your digital library. All books included in this collection feature a hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes. The collection is complimented by an author biography.

Table of Contents

List of Works by Genre and Title
List of Works in Alphabetical Order
List of Works in Chronological Order
Edith Wharton Biography

Novels:
The Age of Innocence
The Bunner Sisters
The Custom of the Country
Ethan Frome
The Fruit of the Tree
The Glimpses of the Moon
The House of Mirth
The Reef
Sanctuary
Summer
The Touchstone
The Valley of Decision

Non-Fiction:
Fighting France
In Morocco

Short Stories Collections:
Crucial Instances
The Descent of Man and Other Stories
The Greater Inclination
The Hermit and the Wild Woman
Tales of Men and Ghosts

Short Stories:
Afterward
The Angel at the Grave
Autres Temps
The Best Man
The Blond Beast
The Bolted Door
The Choice
Coming Home
The Confessional
"Copy" A Dialogue
A Coward
A Cup of Cold Water
The Daunt Diana
The Debt
The Descent of Man
The Dilettante
The Duchess at Prayer
The Eyes
Expiation
Full Circle
The Fulness of Life
The Hermit and the Wild Woman
His Father's Son
The House of The Dead Hand
In Trust
A Journey
Kerfol
The Lady's Maid's Bell
The Last Asset
The Legend
The Letter
The Letters
The Long Run
Madame de Treymes
The Mission of Jane
The Moving Finger
Mrs. Manstey's View
The Muse's Tragedy
The Other Two
The Pelican
The Portrait
The Pot-Boiler
The Pretext
The Quicksand
The Reckoning
The Recovery
The Rembrandt
Souls Belated
The Triumph of Night
The Twilight of the God
A Venetian Night's Entertainment
The Verdict
Xingu

Poetry:
Artemis to Actaeon, and Other Verses
Botticelli's Madonna in the Louvre
The Sonnet

---

Customer Reviews

A great read!
Works of Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome, Sanctuary, The Custom of the Country, Summer & more. Published by MobileReference (mobi)

This is a wonderful read! It gives such a flavor for the times, and for the changes within the society. Edith Wharton's writing is wonderfully descriptive and her characters very real. If you like Edith Wharton like I do, this is a candy store of tales written in brilliant prose.

2009-07-01 (Bronx, NY) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

---

An essential collection
Works of Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome, Sanctuary, The Custom of the Country, Summer & more. Published by MobileReference (mobi)

Edith Wharton spun exquisitely barbed novels out of the social clashes of the late nineteenth century. This collection brings together her best books, exploring the nature of infidelity, passion, social-climbing and a woman's place in an unfriendly world. The novels are intricate looks at society and human nature, wrapped up in beautiful writing. Definitely a must read.

2009-06-15 | Helpful Votes: 4 | Rating: 5

---