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

by Alan Price

Thoughts of Edith Wharton conjure images of upper-class life in turn-of-the-century New York hansom cabs wait curbside in front of Washington Square townhouses; chandeliers glow above the heads of waltzing couples. What does not come to mind immediately is the tough-mindedness of Wharton herself and the efforts she put forth on behalf of others. Alan Price illuminates this side of Wharton in The End of the Age of Edith Wharton and the First World War. During World War I, Wharton saved the lives of thousands of Belgian and French refugees. When the war began, the expatriated Wharton and Henry James saw any possible German victory as "the crash of civilization, " thus prompting their early involvement in the allied cause. In the opening weeks of the conflict, Wharton wrote war reportage at the front and organized relief efforts in Paris. Before the first year was over, she had created organizations and raised funds for three major war charities that bore her name. As the war sank into a stalemate of trench warfare, Wharton continued to write magazine and newspaper articles, organize fundraising schemes, and rally famous painters, composers, and writers to help sway American popular opinion and raise money for refugees. The End of the Age of Innocence tells the dramatic story of Wharton's heroic crusade to save the lives of displaced Belgians and the suffering citizens of her adopted France.

Genres: Biography

224 pages, Hardcover

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!).