| A Backward Glance | |
Wharton:
Collected Stories, 1891-1910
Edited by Maureen Howard
Library of America
ISBN 1-883011-93-0
2000
Edith Wharton was born Edith Newbold Jones. She's usually recognized by the array of novels she brought to life — filled with manners, modesty, and tragedy. During her lifetime, she published 22 novels, 11 collections of short stories, two volumes of poetry, four books of travel or cultural interpretation, an autobiography, several translations, and numerous other works (nonfiction, poetry, stories, and articles).
Among Wharton's most famous works are "The House of Mirth" (1905) and "The Age of Innocence" (1920). Here, in a two volume set, Editor Maureen Howard brings to light again these other works of Wharton. She explains:
Here, in settings familiar and exotic, are all of Wharton's characteristic qualities and themes: her candid exploration of relations between the sexes; her satire, sometimes gentle, sometimes despairing, of social class and its distinctions; her keen-eyed observations of the minutiae of character; her unflinching recognition of the power of conventional morality...
The short stories appearing in this first volume include: "Mrs. Manstey's View, The Fulness of Life, The Lamp of Psyche, The Valley of Childish Things... , The Muse's Tragedy, A Journey, The Pelican, Souls Belated, The Twilight of the God, A Cup of Cold Water, The Touchstone, The Duchess at Prayer, The Angel at the Grave, The Recovery, The Rembrandt, The Moving Finger, Sanctuary, The Descent of Man, The Mission of Jane, The Other Two, The Reckoning, Expiation, The Lady's Maid's Bell, The House of the Dead Hand, The Introducers, The Hermit and the Wild Woman, The Last Asset, The Pretext, The Pot-Boiler, The Best Man, His Father's Son, The Daunt Diana, The Debt, Full Circle, The Legend, The Eyes, Afterward, "and "The Letters."
The stories are as varied as their titles suggest, ranging from a tale about an old woman who just doesn't want her view to change... to stories of adult ery, the sale of personal letters, and haunting eyes. The characters range from businessmen to dilettantes. The experiences are sometimes supernatural in nature; sometimes we find parables... and other times, the morality of the tale just rushes in...
In "Writing of Fiction," Wharton defines a short story as: "a shaft driven straight into the heart of experience." She drew from her many experiences — from society, her marriage, her tragedies, her triumphs, and more — to create works that were poignant, thought-provoking, and provocative.
It's fascinating to note how many of interesting characters in her stories are artists and writers. Here are some of the stories that deal with authors: "The Muse's Tragedy, Soul's Belated, The Full Circle," and" The Legend".
She wrote what she knew... and she accomplished the task with style. In "The Muse's Tragedy," she writes, "I shall never be quite so lonely again now that some one knows."
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Maureen Howard, editor of this volume, is the author of seven novels, including "Grace Abounding," "Expensive Habits," "Natural History," and "A Lover's Almanac," and has taught at Columbia, Princeton, and Yale. She lives in New York City.
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