Complete Works of Edith Wharton - Delphi Classics

by Edith Wharton

This comprehensive eBook offers readers the unique opportunity of exploring Edith Wharton’s novels, novellas, short stories and much, much more. In true Delphi fashion, this is the most scholarly and complete works available of this prominent American writer.
Features:
* illustrated with many images relating to Wharton’s life and works
* annotated with concise introductions to the novels, novellas and other works
* ALL 18 novels, each with contents tables
* INCLUDES the rare first novel FAST AND LOOSE, which Wharton wrote aged 14 – first time in digital print
* EVEN contains the Wharton’s unfinished novel THE BUCCANEERS, available nowhere else
* images of how the novels first appeared, giving your Kindle a taste of the original texts
* ALL 12 short story collections, with RARE uncollected tales available nowhere else
* separate chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the short stories – find that special story easily!
* the war novella THE MARNE, first time in digital print
* EVEN includes Wharton’s rare non-fiction texts, including THE DECORATION OF HOUSES, her groundbreaking manual on interior design – fully illustrated
* ALSO includes Wharton’s European and African travel books, with numerous original illustrations
* includes Wharton’s play THE JOY OF LIVING, translated from German
* features the complete poetry with rare poems available for the first time in digital print
* also includes Wharton autobiography A BACKWARD GLANCE – explore her amazing literary life
* scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres, allowing easy navigation around Wharton’s immense oeuvre
* UPDATED with the rare war novel A SON AT THE FRONT - first time in digital print
* UPDATED with Wharton's three last story collections
* UPDATED with Wharton's treatise on THE WRITING OF FICTION, first time available on the Kindle!
CONTENTS:
The Novels
FAST AND LOOSE
THE VALLEY OF DECISION
SANCTUARY
THE HOUSE OF MIRTH
THE FRUIT OF THE TREE
ETHAN FROME
THE REEF
THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY
SUMMER
THE AGE OF INNOCENCE
THE GLIMPSES OF THE MOON
A SON AT THE FRONT
THE MOTHER'S RECOMPENSE
TWILIGHT SLEEP
THE CHILDREN
HUDSON RIVER BRACKETED
THE GODS ARRIVE
THE BUCCANEERS
The Novellas
THE TOUCHSTONE
MADAME DE TREYMES
THE MARNE
OLD NEW YORK
FALSE DAWN
THE OLD MAID
THE SPARK
NEW YEAR’S DAY
The Short Story Collections
THE GREATER INCLINATION
CRUCIAL INSTANCES
THE DESCENT OF MAN AND OTHER STORIES
THE HERMIT AND THE WILD WOMAN AND STORIES
TALES OF MEN AND GHOSTS
UNCOLLECTED EARLY SHORT STORIES
XINGU AND OTHER STORIES
HERE AND BEYOND
CERTAIN PEOPLE
HUMAN NATURE
THE WORLD OVER
GHOSTS
The Short Stories
LIST OF STORIES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
LIST OF STORIES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
The Play
THE JOY OF LIVING
The Poetry
ARTEMIS TO ACTAEON AND OTHER VERSES
UNCOLLECTED POETRY
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF POEMS
The Non-Fiction
THE DECORATION OF HOUSES
ITALIAN VILLAS AND THEIR GARDENS
ITALIAN BACKGROUNDS
A MOTOR-FLIGHT THROUGH FRANCE
FRANCE, FROM DUNKERQUE TO BELFORT
FRENCH WAYS AND THEIR MEANING
IN MOROCCO
THE WRITING OF FICTION
The Biography
A BACKWARD GLANCE

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Collections

Unknown Binding

First published October 11, 2011

About the author

Edith 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.

Reviews

[McYang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read Wharton's work since college and felt it was the right time to revisit after reading a slew of contemporary historical romances.

[Kwkslvr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edith Wharton masterfully lampoons the Clubby Boys of her time and their dismissal of their entitlement. Very enjoyable.