false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165518471m/5256.jpg 5256 12 The four short novels in this collection by the author of <I>The Age of Innocence</I> are set in the New York of the 1840s, '50s, '60s, and '70s, each one revealing the tribal codes and customs that ruled society, portrayed with the keen style that is uniquely Edith Wharton's. Originally published in 1924 and long out of print, these tales are vintage Wharton, dealing boldly with such themes as infidelity, illegitimacy, jealousy, the class system, and the condition of women in society. Included in this remarkable quartet are <I>False Dawn,</I> which concerns the stormy relationship between a domineering father and his son; <I>The Old Maid,</I> the best known of the four, in which a young woman's secret illegitimate child is adopted by her best friend -- with devastating results; <I>The Spark,</I> about a young man's moral rehabilitation, which is "sparked" by a chance encounter with Walt Whitman; and <I>New Year's Day,</I> an O. Henryesque tale of a married woman suspected of adultery. <I>Old New York</I> is Wharton at her finest.<P> 8721 1924 Old New York total:308|5:78|4:130|3:85|2:14|1:1| 308 1194 485 24 3 0 false false Thu Jun 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 11:59:05 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 26 02:53:52 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 30 17:16:31 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 03 22:07:51 -0700 2009 She is by no means my favorite author, (...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Aug 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 17:57:22 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 16:43:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Feb 06 19:27:29 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 06 19:29:23 -0800 2009
I would like to read the rest of the stories sometime.]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Fri Apr 25 22:00:42 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 25 22:13:34 -0700 2008
In any case, what I retained from high school was an abiding d...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 20:30:26 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 14:23:34 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 26 18:12:51 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 26 18:14:09 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Nov 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 09:13:21 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 14:04:22 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sat Jun 27 19:44:21 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 19:44:56 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Aug 03 08:57:16 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 03 08:58:01 -0700 2007 how people feel. ...more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Dec 30 00:21:43 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 00:21:51 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Sat Nov 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Oct 04 16:26:25 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 09 13:54:54 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 true false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 23 13:48:28 -0800 2007 Tue Apr 01 18:36:35 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 15 20:20:20 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 08:18:40 -0700 2009
This collection was hit-and-miss, but even the 2 "miss" entries were okay. The other two were very good, hence the overall 3 stars.

Wharton tr...more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Aug 27 06:48:52 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 03 20:42:22 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Feb 13 10:28:04 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 13 10:52:13 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Thu Jan 24 05:12:59 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 24 05:13:56 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Fri Jun 27 10:26:01 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 27 10:28:54 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Wed Jan 09 15:17:57 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 09 20:10:31 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Thu Mar 20 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Mon Apr 06 19:16:32 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 19:16:32 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=5256