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The Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton - A Ten-Volume Collection - Volume 2
Includes stories, such as Afterward, the Fullness of Life, a Venetian Night\'s Entertainment, Xingu, the Verdict, and the Reckoning, and verse, such as Botticelli\'s Madonna in the Louvre, etc.
206 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Edith Wharton
1,668 books5,479 followersEdith 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 2, 2025
Volume 2 includes six stories: Afterward — The Fullness of Life — Xingu — A Venetian Night’s Entertainment — The Verdict — The Reckoning. Except for “The Fullness of Life,” which takes place at the gates of Heaven, all are delightfully intriguing tales. There is a complicated story of a haunted house wherein the ghost is so elusive he is not recognized until afterward. “Xingu” shows a wealthy ladies’ lunch club lying to one another, hoping to cover up their own ignorance. Intriguing stories full of ironic twists and turns show us the perils of wealthy young men in exotic ports, and of unfaithful wives when the tables are turned. In “The Verdict” the former artist admits to his friend that when confronted with the work of a real master, he could not go on painting anymore. Actually every one of Wharton’s characters is similarly confronted with the truth — the wealthy ladies won’t admit it, the young man in Venice gets rescued, and the unfaithful wife seeks forgiveness from her first husband.
June 4, 2012
Loved it! Big fan of Lola Edith, and this is a nice way to get the wit and the razor-sharp observations of her writing in small, easy-to-digest morsels. You get glimpses of her powers at their height in these stories - including a ghost story, a period piece set in Venice, and a fable - but also a playfulness and a sense of a writer experimenting with different genres that is delightful to observe.
January 24, 2010
I have to admit, like 'The Pelican,' I didn't get the point of this one, I think. The heroine is a tragic figure, but tragic through her own choice, so that makes me mad.
April 23, 2013
Kindle edition. Wonderful stories.
February 9, 2015
The Verdict is my favourite.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews