The End of the Age of Innocence: Edith Wharton and the First World War

by Alan Price

The End of the Age of Innocence tells the dramatic story of Edith Wharton's heroic crusade to save the lives of displaced Belgians and suffering citizens of her adopted France, by organizing refugee relief efforts during WWI.

Genres: Biography

255 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine literary history covering Edith Wharton's wartime charitable work and how that work impacted her personally and influenced her writing (in terms of redirecting it in many instances toward discursive, non-literary writing and away from the novel and short stories which had earned EW her reputation). While this combination of focused biographical work and literary history is meticulous one it could have emphasized more of an interpretive in terms of the writing she produced during this period. Although her literary production was curtailed, the writing she DID produce is worthy of analysis. Arnold Rampersad's two-volume biography of Langston Hughes is a good example of a biography that does just this. Still, an indispensable book for those who study Wharton or who want greater insight into the relationship between authorship and philanthropy.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took ages for me to get through this book--no real narrative flow and it really felt like a report on Wharton. She did this and then she did this and then this! But after the US entered the war (along with the American Red Cross) things got really interesting and it became difficult to put down. Great for those interested in the other side of famous writers, as well as for those interested in women and WWI. It gave me a whole other insight to an article I recently wrote about club women and WWI in Dallas--and now I wish I had read this before writing that paper (it's only been sitting on my shelf for about two years!).