Letters of Edith Wharton

by R.W.B. Lewis, Nancy Lewis

Here are the intimate letters of Edith Wharton--the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize--detailing her work, her family, her friendship with Henry James, and her passion for the American journalist Morton Fullerton. The letters reveal a remarkable, independent woman who lived life fully. Three 8-page inserts.

Genres: Classics, Nonfiction

672 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 1989

About the author

Richard Warrington Baldwin Lewis was an American literary scholar and critic who won a Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography in 1976.

Reviews

[Laura]

I actually cried when I finished reading these letters. I had grown so close to Edith that knowing she died just a few days after her last letter and that the reason she was tired when she wrote her last letter was because of an eminent stroke was just heartbreaking. This collection is thorough and presents a vivid portrait of Wharton. You really get to know her as a person, not just the great writer. These letters are so useful in understanding her fiction and the person behind the novels. R.W.B. Lewis strikes again!

[Thomas Schulte]

Through her correspondence, we peer into a literary life of a successful author living mostly in France. The travails of her personal life come through, such as an unstable and problematic husband and a stand-offish affair with William Morton Fullerton. As become more of a francophone, French creeps into the letters and I wish this was translated. Fortunately, in the case of a handful of letters to André Gide this is done.

As WWI begins to emerge, it is interesting to read of her feeling that her homeland should participate against clear wrongs:

The "atrocities" one hears of are true. I know of many, alas, too well authenticated. Spread it abroad as much as you can. It should be known that it is to America's interest to help stem this hideous flood of savagery by opinion if it may not be by action. No civilized race can remain neutral in feeling now.

She stays in France during the war, overseeing a workshop offering deployment. Also shared are letter on her price and publication negotiations with Charles Scribner and others.

[Aurelia]

Really great short book

[Kay Davis]

Edith Wharton’s letters reveal a complex, private woman whose personal life was seldom discussed with business associates and acquaintances. Edith Wharton counted among her closest friends author Henry James; art historians Violet Paget, Bernard Berenson, and Charles Eliot Norton; and Norton’s daughter Sara Norton. Included are letters describing her troubled marriage to Teddy Wharton and her affair with journalist Morton Fullerton.

[Christine]

Really well done, though I don't know if it's for someone who's not into Edith Wharton or early 20th Century stuff.

[Ruth]

A fabulous insight into the life of one of my favorite authors.