Wharton News and Notes

Edith Wharton Review (Fall 2011) Table of Contents

2011-12-28T11:12:00.001-08:00

http://www.edithwhartonsociety.org

Volume 27.2, Fall 2011

Faulstick, Dustin H. "'He that Loveth Silver Shall Not Be Satisfied with Silver'" Reconsidering the Connection between The House of Mirth and Ecclesiastes."Edith Wharton Review 27.2 (Fall 2011): 1-12.

Patten, Ann L. "'The Wanamaker Touch in Fiction' and Edith Wharton's Guide to Novel-writing in Hudson River Bracketed and The Gods Arrive." Edith Wharton Review 27.2 (Fall 2011): 12-22.

Raphael, Lev. "Writing Wharton's Wrong." Edith Wharton Review 27.2 (Fall 2011): 22-2.

Shaffer-Koros, Carol. "Wharton in New York." Edith Wharton Review 27.2 (Fall 2011): 23-24.

Goldman-Price, Irene. "Edith Wharton Collection Research Report." Edith Wharton Review 27.2 (Fall 2011): 24-25.

Olin-Ammentorp, Julie. Rev. of Edith Wharton and the Politics of Race by Jennie A. Kassanoff. Edith Wharton Review 27.2 (Fall 2011): 25-26.

Campbell, Donna. Rev. of The Unpublished Writings of Edith Wharton, ed. Laura Rattray. Edith Wharton Review 27.2 (Fall 2011): 26-27.

New queries at the Edith Wharton Society site

2011-10-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Please send any replies to whartonqueries@gmail.com for posting at the site.
*********
Edith Wharton's dogs

I am conducting research for an article to be published in 2011, commemorating the 125th anniversary of American Kennel Club recognition of the English Toy Spaniel (admitted 1886). I wish to include photographs of noted Americans with this breed in my article.

About 2 to 3 years ago, I saw a photo (possibly a post card or carte de visite) for auction on Ebay claiming to show Edith Wharton with her pet English Toy Spaniel [a.k.a. King Charles Spaniel; not to be confused with the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel]. Unfortunately, I did not win this auction and I cannot find this particular photo in any on-line archives. I have found photos of Edith Wharton with her Chihuahua dogs and a Yorkshire Terrier.

Is there a copy of this photo in the collection of the Edith Wharton Library/Archives? Can anyone confirm that she did indeed at some time own this breed as a pet? The photo on Ebay definitely depicted a lady of the era, certainly resembling Edith Wharton, with an English Toy Spaniel. I believe the dog was seated on her lap. This photo may have been taken after the author relocated to France. The dog is a small, flat-faced spaniel which could be easily mistaken for a Pekingese.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Richard LeBeau
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*****************

"The Line of Least Resistance"

My name is quoted below and you can of course quote it, as well as my e-mail address. I am and have been all my life a passionate Whartonian, although I am better know throughout the world (this a true fact not a self-serving fancy!) as a biographer of Gustav Mahler (3 volumes of my biography have been published by Oxford University Press).

My mother was one of the two daughters of the hero (or rather anti-hero as we say in French) of the Wharton story The Line of Least Resistance but the story ended very differently in real life. My mother knew Wharton well and they must have met quite frequently in France, where Wharton spent most of her life, as far as I know. She was the main subject of my last conversation with my mother before my mother was killed in a car-accident in 1983.

I found a letter from James to Wharton which concerns "The Line". If further information concerning this story has survived, I would of course be very interested. I already know much of the truth behind the story, particularly why Wharton never followed James's advice of transforming "The Line..." into a novel, but I suppose all Whartonians know about this!

This is all for today but I would be very obliged to receive answers to this message

Henry-Louis de La Grange

Prof. H.L. de La Grange

Please reply to hlg@bluewin.ch

**********************

Frontispiece for House of Mirth

I would like to know which image was used for the frontispiece for 'The House of Mirth,' the first 1905 edition. There are two major photographs presented as taken during this time (one with Wharton sitting at her desk, the other she is standing with a book).
Thank you

****************

"The Journey" I am leading a Book Club discussion on Edith Wharton's "The Journey". Could you tell me what year this short story was written? I understand it is part of The Greater Inclination, with a publication in 1916????

Thank you for your help - it is fine to publish this information.

Age of Innocence Reviews in British Periodicals

Was Age of Innocence reviewed in Cornhill Magazine, or any other contemporary British literary journal of comparable status?

********************

Bouguereau Venus

I am doing a research on art collectors Wharton knew and drew inspiration from for her characters.

In her autobiography she mentions an episode in which William Astor’s acquisition of a Bouguereau Venus was occasionally commented upon by friends and relatives; I have been looking in several publications and archives, but I have not been able to identify this painting; I’m also not sure if the Astor she might have been referring to was William Backhouse Astor or another member of the family.

I would really appreciate any information on the subject.

Sincerely

Elisabetta Mezzani

***************

Judith Fetterley on Wharton

I am looking for the article "The Temptation to be a Beautiful Object" by Judith Fetterley. I cannot find a book in print that includes this article, and I wondered if you could help. Thank you!

Katie Wickliff

***************
Edith Wharton's Will

What was the content of her will? Did her niece receive her possessions? Did she create the potion of literary executor?
Thank you
M Stalnaker

**************

"My Little Dog"

I am trying to find the poem “my little old dog:/a heartbeat at my feet. I am unable to retrieve it from the electronic text center. I am probably doing something wrong. Could you please help me or forward me a copy?

Thank you.

Susan Cook

walking.demi@yahoo.com

***************

"The Pelican"

Most critics believe that the lecture is satirized, but why does Wharton also give an account of the smug narrator who prides on his knowledge and assumes himself to be a savior? The pelican implies self-sacrifice, and is this also meant for satire? Also, how do we think of the lecturer's family traditon of learning? Does she try to find an excuse to maintain her literary identity? (Jane from Capital Normal University, Beijing)

***************

Spohr Symphony in Age of Innocence

In “The Age of Innocence” Book 2, XIX , 4 pages into this section the following passage occurs: “A long time had apparently passed since his heart had stopped beating, for the white and rosy procession was in fact half way up the nave, the Bishop, the Rector and two white-winged assistants were hovering about the flower-banked altar, and the first chords of the Spohr symphony were strewing their flower-like notes before the bride.”

I am a member of the Spohr Society of Great Britain and as such am interested in all references to the composer in literature. My question is, which Spohr symphony is referred to? Spohr’s work is rarely played these days, especially not at weddings, but it must have been sufficiently standard a part of American wedding services at the period the novel was set in for readers to know, without having it specified, which work it was. Can any member throw light on this?

Many thanks

Mike Jarman

mike.jarman@btinternet .com

*****************

Edith Wharton Design Award

I am doing research on Edith Wharton and came across a reference to John Loring of Tiffany fame who was given the Design and Art Society's Edith Wharton Award of Excellence in 1988. I would like to know there if there is any specific information about this particular award — how it came to be — and perhaps other recipients.

Thank you for your kind attention —

Best,
Miriam Berman
Author, Madison Square — The Park and Its Celebrated Landmarks

**************

Detailed bibliography of publication dates for Wharton's serial novels

For a researcher at our university, we’re seeking a detailed bibliography for Wharton’s serialized novels’ publication schedule. For example, for the “House of Mirth,” it would give each issue (date, page numbers) of Scribner’s Magazine in which that novel was serialized.

We’ve found many more general lists that tell the months and years a novel was serialized, but are hoping that someone might have compiled this more complete and specific data.

Thank you!

Mary Molineux, msmoli@wm.edu

**************
Wharton poem on dogs

I am trying to find the poem “my little old dog:/a heartbeat at my feet. I am unable to retrieve it from the electronic text center. I am probably doing something wrong. Could you please help me or forward me a copy?

Thank you.

Susan Cook, walking.demi@yahoo.com

Wharton site available; Wharton in Florence 2012 site

2011-05-30T16:20:00.000-07:00

The Edith Wharton site is now available at its usual spot: http://www.edithwhartonsociety.org. Also, the conference site for Edith Wharton in Florence 2012 is available here: http://wharton2012.wordpress.com.

Edith Wharton Society site down temporarily

2011-05-23T09:26:00.001-07:00

Because of an outage at the main WSU web site, the Edith Wharton Society web site is down temporarily. The IT people say that it will be restored by the end of the week (5/27). Sorry for the inconvenience.

Donna Campbell

Wharton Sessions at American Literature Association 2011

2011-03-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 26, 4:30-5:50 pm

Session 6-B: Edith Wharton and the Aesthetic

Organized by the Edith Wharton Society

Chair: Gary Totten, North Dakota State University

1. “‘Our Literary Aristocrat‘: Edith Wharton, Social Class, and The Writing of Fiction,”‖ Julie Olin-Ammentorp, Le Moyne College

2. “Wharton, Atherton, and the Aesthetics of Age,”‖ Melanie Dawson, College of William and Mary

3. “Wharton‘s Guide to Novel-writing: Hudson River Bracketed and The Gods Arrive,”‖ Ann L. Patten, Trinity College Dublin

4. “Edith Wharton and the Problem of Progress,”‖ Rafael Walker, University of Pennsylvania

Friday, May 27, 9:40-11:00 am

Session 8-B: Realism, Naturalism, and the Powers of Horror in Edith Wharton's Writing

Organized by the Edith Wharton Society

Chair: Meredith Goldsmith, Ursinus College

1. "Mountain Iconography: Charity's Uphill Descent in Edith Wharton's Summer," Bill Hardwig, University of Tennessee

2. "Queering the Uncanny: The Psychic Vampire in Viereck's The House of the Vampire and Wharton's "The Eyes," Sharon Kehl Califano, Hesser College

3. “The ‘Habit(u)s and Tastes’ of Edith Wharton's Gothic: Class, Ghosts, and Architecture in "Afterward" and "The Lady's Maid's Bell," Gillian Nelson Bauer, Loyola University Chicago

Friday, May 27, 11:10 am-12:30 pm

Session 9-N: Business Meeting: Wharton Society

Edith Wharton Conference 2012

2011-02-19T12:53:00.001-08:00

Edith Wharton in Florence:

A Sesquicentennial Conference Sponsored by

the Edith Wharton Society

6-8 June 2012

Please join us for the international conference of the Edith Wharton Society in Florence, Italy, celebrating the sesquicentennial of Wharton's birth. “Edith Wharton in Florence” will be the third Wharton Society conference held in Europe and the first in Italy. The conference directors seek papers focusing on all aspects of Wharton's work, and we especially welcome submissions dealing with the international contexts of her writing. Papers might offer readings of any of Wharton's texts, including the short fiction, poetry, plays, essays, and travel writing, in addition to the novels; Wharton's work in relation to any of its nineteenth- and twentieth-century contexts; Wharton in a transatlantic literary context; Wharton and her contemporaries, both male and female, canonical and non-canonical, European and American; Wharton in Italy, Morocco, and elsewhere in Europe; Wharton and the other arts, including painting, photography, theatre, and film (adaptations of her work during her lifetime and those that have appeared more recently); Wharton and cosmopolitanism, globalization, and the various forces of modernity; Wharton and art history. All theoretical approaches welcome, including feminist, psychoanalytic, historicist, marxist, queer, and ecocritical, among others.

Through the generosity of Marist College, the conference will be held at Marist's Lorenzo di Medici campus, in the heart of Florence. In addition to panels, there will be a keynote speaker and opportunities for tours of the area.

Please submit 250-500-word abstracts and brief CV to EdithWhartoninFlorence2012@gmail.com

by 15 July 2011.

All conference participants must be members of the Edith Wharton Society

at the time of registration.

For more information about the conference, contact Conference Directors

Meredith Goldsmith (Ursinus College; mgoldsmith@ursinus.edu) and

Emily Orlando (Fairfield University; eorlando@fairfield.edu).

New issues of The Edith Wharton Review

2010-01-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

The Fall and Spring 2009 issues of The Edith Wharton Review have been mailed to members. The EWR is a peer-reviewed journal indexed by the MLA, and it will soon be available through EBSCOhost.

To submit an essay to the EWR or for the Edith Wharton Essay Prize, go to http://www.edithwhartonsociety.org/ewr.htm.

Recent Tables of Contents

Fall 2009

Asya, Ferda. "Report on the 2008-2009 Edith Wharton Collection Award of the Edith Wharton Society." Edith Wharton Review 25.2 (Fall 2009): 10.

Hoeller, Hildegard. Rev. of Edith Wharton and the Conversations of Literary Modernism by Jennifer Haytock . Edith Wharton Review 25.2 (Fall 2009): 11-12.

Nettels, Elsa. Rev. of Edith Wharton Through a Darwinian Lens: Evolutionary Biological Issues in Her Fiction by Judith P. Saunders. Edith Wharton Review 25.2 (Fall 2009): 12-13.

Scott, Jacquelyn. "The 'lift of a broken wing': Darwinian Descent and Selection in Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth and Summer." Edith Wharton Review 25.2 (Fall 2009): 1-9

Singley, Carol. Rev. of The Correspondence of Edith Wharton and Macmillan, 1901-1930, ed. Shafquat Towheed. Edith Wharton Review 25.2 (Fall 2009): 14-15.

Spring 2009

Patten, Ann L. "The Spectres of Capitalism and Democracy in Edith Wharton's Early Ghost Stories." Edith Wharton Review 25.1 (Spring 2009): 1-8.

Totten, Gary. Rev. of Edith Wharton and the Visual Arts by Emily Orlando. Edith Wharton Review 25.1 (Spring 2009): 9-14.

Wahl, Jenny. "Edith Wharton as Economist: An Economic Interpretation of The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence." Edith Wharton Review 25.1 (Spring 2009): 15.

.

Edith Wharton Society Research Award

2009-12-17T10:46:00.001-08:00

Deadline: March 15, 2010

Each year the Edith Wharton Society offers an Edith Wharton Collection Research Award of $1500 to enable a scholar to conduct research on the Edith Wharton Collection of materials at the Beinecke Library at Yale University.

Prospective fellows for the 2010-2011 award are asked to submit a research proposal (maximum length 5 single-spaced pages) and a resume by March 15, 2010 to Margaret Murray at murraym@wcsu.edu or at this address:

Margaret Murray
Professor of English
Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, CT 06810 USA

The research proposal should detail the overall research project, its particular contribution to Wharton scholarship, the preparation the candidate brings to the project, and the specific relevance that materials at the Beinecke collection have for its completion. The funds need to be used for transportation, lodging, and other expenses related to a stay at the library.

Notification of the award will take place by April15th and theaward can be used from May 1, 2010 till May 1, 2011. A final report will be due June 1, 2011. The Winner will be asked at that point to submit a short report essay to the Edith Wharton Review, which will briefly inform the readers of the EWR of the research done but will not be in the way of the winner publishing a scholarly article elsewhere as well.

The Wharton Salon

2009-08-06T14:23:00.001-07:00

June 18, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHARTON PLAYS RETURN TO THE MOUNT
THE WHARTON SALON: Xingu (August 20-23)

[THE MOUNT, LENOX, MA] A new forward-looking theatre ensemble, The Wharton Salon, in partnership with The Mount returns the adapted stories of Edith Wharton to the stage August 20-23 for a limited run of two evening and two morning performances in the drawing room of Wharton's historic home. The Salon's first production will be the delightful comedy Xingu adapted by Dennis Krausnick featuring Wharton veteran actors Corinna May, Daniel Osman, Diane Prusha and Tod Randolph with newcomers Lydia Barnett-Mulligan, Jennie Burkhard Jadow, Rory Hammond and Karen Lee, directed by Catherine Taylor-Williams. Xingu performs Thursday and Friday at 5:30 pm, Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 am. Tickets are $35 General Admission and include a Day Pass to The Mount. For tickets and information, call 413-551-5113 or visit www.edithwharton.org; www.whartonsalon.org

"The Wharton plays were an enormous asset to the cultural life of the Berkshires and I am delighted we can bring them back in a new form,"
says Taylor-Williams. "I have missed the combination of these terrific actors, Wharton's home and her wonderful adapted stories. I am grateful to Susan Wissler and The Mount for the opportunity to share these plays with audiences once again, to Dennis Krausnick and Shakespeare & Company who began this work and inspired my love for Wharton, and I'm especially happy to be reunited with one of the most important characters in the plays, the house."

"We are thrilled to have The Wharton Salon with us at The Mount," says Executive Director Susan Wissler. "What an enlivening experience to see the stories of Edith Wharton performed in her historic home. We look forward to many great collaborations with The Wharton Salon"

Published in 1916, Edith Wharton's Xingu centers around Mrs. Ballinger (May), a society hostess in the town of Hillbridge, and the Lunch Club, a curious grouping of women who have gathered to host celebrated author, Osric Dane, (Randolph) with a discussion of her recent novel, The Wings of Death. The meeting is off to a terrible start, as no subjects of conversation can be found to endear the author to her audience and the meeting is heading for social disaster when the Club is "rescued" by the introduction of a fascinating subject, Xingu, by the Club's most unpredictable member, Fanny Roby (Lee). Roby immediately leaves, having remembered "a pressing engagement to play bridge" - celebrated author in tow. The Club members praise their good fortune of being rid of the author, and their knowledge of Xingu, until they make a startling discovery..

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was born into a tightly controlled society known as "Old New York" at a time when women were discouraged from achieving anything beyond a proper marriage. Wharton broke through these strictures to become one of America's greatest writers. Author of The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, and The House of Mirth, she wrote over 40 books in 40 years, including authoritative works on architecture, gardens, interior design, and travel. Essentially self-educated, she was the first woman awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Yale University and a full membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

The Wharton Salon performs the stories of Edith Wharton and her contemporaries in adaptation, offering a unique intimacy between author, actor and audience, and a view of The Mount's fantastic gardens with the Berkshire hills beyond. Salon plays are performed in the air-conditioned drawing room, and on temperate days the terrace doors are open, welcoming the outdoors into the playing space.

The Mount was designed and built by Edith Wharton in 1902. The house, three acres of formal gardens, and extensive woodlands are open to the public daily May through October.

At A Glance:

Production: Xingu

Adapted from Edith Wharton, by Dennis Krausnick

Theatre: The Drawing Room at The Mount, 2 Plunkett Street, Lenox, MA

Director: Catherine Taylor-Williams

Stage Manager: Lyn Liseno

Costumes Coordinated by: Arthur Oliver

Cast: Lydia Barnett-Mulligan, Jennie Burkhard Jadow, Rory Hammond, Karen Lee, Corinna May, Daniel Osman, Diane Prusha and Tod Randolph

Dates/Times: Thursday, August 20 at 5:30 pm Friday August 21 at 5:30 pm Saturday August 22 at 10:30 am Sunday, August 23 at 10:30 am

Tickets: $35, General Admission. Includes Day Pass to The Mount.
Wheelchair accessible.

Box Office: 413-551-5113 Box Office hours: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm or www.edithwharton.org; www.whartonsalon.org

Edith Wharton's letters to Anna Bahlmann

2009-06-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

There's a slide show of Edith Wharton's letters over at The New Yorker; the article is only in the print version, unfortunately.

Check out Edith Wharton in the News

2009-06-25T18:37:00.001-07:00

Most of the updates these days are over at Edith Wharton in the News, http://edithwharton.blogspot.com.

Edith Wharton in the News: The Mount on SciFi and Age of Innocence on Gossip Girl

2009-03-24T16:45:00.001-07:00

Edith Wharton in the News: The Mount on SciFi and Age of Innocence on Gossip Girl

>From Irene Goldman-Price:
Edith Wharton's home in the Berkshires, The Mount, is the subject of an episode of GhostHunters on the SciFi channel. The episode airs on March 25, 2009, at 9 p.m.EDT. http://www.scifi.com/ghosthunters/

>From Emily Orlando and Jessica McCarthy:
The show _Gossip Girl_ (on the CW network), which frequently referencesWharton and her works in its themes, recently devoted an episode to a schoolproduction of _The Age of Innocence_. The episode is available here:http://www.cwtv.com/cw-video/gossip-girl/full/?play=423-5376

Glimpses of the Moon Musical

2008-10-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

Back by Popular Demand… Glimpses of the Moon: A Jazz Age Musical
We invite members of the Edith Wharton Society and friends to attend performances of the new musical adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1922 novel, GLIMPSES OF THE MOON. This sparkling Jazz Age musical will be presented at the famed Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan on Monday evenings at 8 pm, starting on October 27th, 2008.

Set in 1922, an age of anything but innocence, GLIMPSES OF THE MOON follows the jazzy whirl of New York society. With plenty of friends but little money, Susy Branch and her friend Nick Lansing devise a clever scheme to live beyond their means. They'll marry and live off the wedding gifts while they help each other trade up to millionaires. The plan works perfectly – until they fall in love.

The musical is directed by Marc Bruni (Associate Director of Legally Blonde and Grease on Broadway) and choreographed by Denis Jones. The cast of six includes Autumn Hurlbert (Legally Blonde) and Chris Peluso (Mamma Mia) as well as special guest appearances by popular cabaret artists. The adaptation and lyrics are by Tajlei Levis with music by composer John Mercurio. The show is produced by Sharon Carr Associates.

For tickets, contact ticketweb.com or call 866.468.7619. Mention code EWMOON for a special discount for friends of the Edith Wharton society. Group discounts are available – please contact info@glimpsesOfTheMoon.com for further information and group sales.

Thanks to an enthusiastic response from critics and audiences, the show sold out its entire run last winter. The show is now returning to the Oak Room with performances every Monday night at 8pm, starting October 27th. The Algonquin Hotel is located at 59 West 44th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenue, in Manhattan.

The critics rave...

"One of the best new musicals I've seen in ages" --Duncan Pflaster, BroadwayWorld.com

"Glimpses of the Moon has already bested most of the current crop of musicals for civilized entertainment" --Michael Dale, Showtime!

"A one of a kind New York experience... Don't miss getting a glimpse of this moon!" --Bixby Elliot, Yahoo Broadway.

We hope you will join us for a wonderful evening in the Oak Room.

Press release: new book based on Wharton's "Kerfol"

2008-10-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Ghosts of Kerfol
By Deborah Noyes

In her classic ghost story "Kerfol," Edith Wharton tells the tale of Anne de Barrigan, a young Frenchwoman convicted of murdering her husband, the jealous Yves de Cornault. The elderly lord was found dead on the stairs, apparently savaged by a pack of dogs, though there were no dogs -- no live dogs -- at Kerfol that day. In this remarkable collection of intertwining short stories, Deborah Noyes takes us back to the haunted manor and tells us Anne de Barrigan's story through the sympathetic eyes of her servant girl. Four more tales slip forward in time, peering in on a young artist, a hard-drinking party girl, a young American couple, and a deaf gardener who now tends the Kerfol estate. All these souls are haunted by the ghosts of Kerfol -- the dead dogs, the sensual yet uneasy relationships, and the bitter taste of revenge. In an enthralling work of Gothic suspense, an Edith Wharton story inspires five connected tales set in the same haunted manor over the centuries.

Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews "Beautiful and genuinely frightening." --------
Horn Book Magazine "The setting is particularly successful as Noyes manages to ground each entry in its specific time period while maintaining the brooding gothic atmosphere throughout." --------

Voice of Youth Advocates "Will be enjoyed by avid readers of historical fiction." --------
Booklist *Starred review* "Unique, mesmerizing tales…dark sensuality."

CFP: Edith Wharton Panels at ALA 2009

2008-09-11T20:25:00.001-07:00

Call for Papers: ALA 2009

The Edith Wharton Society will sponsor two panels at the American Literature Association Conference in Boston, MA, on 21-24 May 2009.

1. After Innocence: Late Edith Wharton

In his influential essay, "Justice to Edith Wharton", Edmund Wilson casually wrote off Wharton's writing after The Age of Innocence, concluding that the more "commonplace work of her later years had had the effect of dulling the reputation of her earlier and more serious work." This panel re-examines the final period of Wharton's career, and its place in any assessment of the writer's oeuvre. Possible topics might include: Wharton and her critics; the late short stories; versions of her memoirs; correspondence; the critical writings; public image; the writer's responses to contemporary fiction; Wharton and the Depression; the Vance Weston novels; The Buccaneers; Wharton's legacy. All approaches welcome. Please submit 250 word paper proposals and brief biographical statement by 15 January 2009 to Laura Rattray at: L.Rattray@hull.ac.uk

2. New Perspectives on the Novel of Manners
Since James W. Tuttleton wrote The Novel of Manners in America in 1972, scholars have “reclaimed” a massive amount of literature by writers who were marginalized though canon formation. So too have critical perspectives and methodologies broadened the study of literature. Additionally, many contemporary popular texts are now taught in classrooms. This panel seeks to use Edith Wharton, as a comparative point from which to examine other writers, as novelists of manners. Submissions may include modern or popular writers or any new treatments of canonical writers. Please submit 250-300 word proposals and a brief biographical statement by 15 January 2009 to Margaret Murray at murraym@wcsu.edu.

Nominations for EWS Board and Offices: Deadline Extended

2008-04-14T07:28:00.001-07:00

14 April. Deadline extended to July 1, 2008, for EWS Secretary and Executive board nominations. Nominations invited for EWS Executive Board and Secretary positions. Completed nomination forms should be returned by email to BOTH L.Rattray@hull.ac.uk and SSTowheed@aol.com.

Change of Venue for Edith Wharton and History Conference

2008-04-04T06:01:00.000-07:00

The following message will be sent to participants in the Edith Wharton and History Conference, but it should also be read by those intending to attend the conference who have not yet registered. See also the conference site for any updates.

--Donna Campbell

Dear Participants:

We are writing to inform you that we had to make some changes to the location of the Edith Wharton Conference. The conference was fully planned out, when we suddenly learnt that the Seven Hills Inn was being sold and could or would not accommodate us. Even though our contract with them has a stipulation that the contract would hold even in the case of a sale, the Inn refused to honor that contract since the inn will undergo transitional repairs during the time of our planned stay there. We had no choice but to relocate the conference. It will now be held at The Crowne Plaza at One West St., Pittsfield, MA, 01201. The Crowne Plaza is a modern conference center/hotel , which is 8.7 miles from The Mount. The website is www.crowneplaza.com. The phone is (413) 499-2000. Crowne Plaza is a Priority Club member, and we look forward to enjoying the vastly upgraded hospitality that they offer. Please see the bottom of this letter for a new menu choice for the banquet.

We also, unfortunately, cannot be certain that The Mount will be open, since it is threatened by foreclosure. We are keeping an eye on that situation every week. However, if it is open, members of the Edith Wharton Society have volunteered to drive those who need transportation to The Mount. All this said, the conference itself is no different than it was planned ; it is still a juried conference, the location is still in the beautiful Berkshire area, and the cost for accommodations will be somewhat lower: Thurs. night is $119 and Fri. night is $139. Seven Hills is now in the process of refunding room deposits to the credit cards on which those deposits were charged. We are looking for a vibrant exchange of ideas on Edith Wharton. We therefore hope that you will still come to the conference, but we would like you to let us know as soon as possible if these changes will affect your plans so that we can plan out the conference to its final shape. We will be accepting Conference registrations until April 30. If you have any additional questions, please contact Margaret Murray at drmpm@snet.net .

With many thanks, and looking forward to seeing you in June,

All best regards,

Hildegard Hoeller, P resident, Edith Wharton Society

Margaret Murray, Vice-president, Conference Director

If you have already registered, please send your new dinner selection to:

Dr. Carole Shaffer-Koros
Kean University
School of Visual and Performing Arts
1000 Morris Ave.
Union , NJ 07083

___Prime Rib ___Grilled Salmon with citrus sauce ___Chef’s Choice Vegetarian Entrée

Registration Form for Edith Wharton and History Conference

June 26-28, 2008
Crowne Plaza

One West Street

Pittsfield , MA 01201

(413) 499-2000

Registration fee of $125 includes 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 coffee breaks, cocktail party and banquet dinner.

Graduate Student rate: $100; undergraduates may register by the day, to include breakfast, lunch and coffee break, for $15 each day, with student i.d.

Reservation for rooms should be made at Crowne Plaza ; ask for the Edith Wharton Society rate, which is $119 for June 26, and $139 for June 27.

Questions about the Conference should be directed to Margaret Murray at drmpm@snet.net

Conference Registration (include check for $125; students should include copy of student ID), mail to:

Dr. Carole Shaffer-Koros
Kean University
School of Visual and Performing Arts
1000 Morris Ave.
Union , NJ 07083

NAME:__________________________________________________________

AFFILIATION:____________________________________________________

MAILING ADDRESS______________________________________________

EMAIL:________________________________________________________________

PHONE:________________________________________________________________

AMOUNT ENCLOSED: _________$125 _________$100 __________$15

BANQUET ENTRÉE (pick one):

___Prime Rib ___Grilled Salmon with citrus sauce ___Chef’s Choice Vegetarian Entrée

The Mount in danger of foreclosure

2008-02-23T12:31:00.001-08:00

From the New York Times:

Landmark Massachusetts Building Where Wharton Wrote Faces Foreclosure

By CHARLES McGRATH
Published: February 23, 2008

The Mount, Edith Wharton’s estate in Lenox, Mass., is in danger of being put in foreclosure, says Stephanie Copeland, president of Edith Wharton Restoration, the organization that owns and maintains this stately residence and its surrounding gardens.

Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

Since 2002, Ms. Copeland explained by phone this week, the Mount, which is open to the public — much of it has been restored in recent years to match the period when Wharton lived there — has been covering its operating expenses by borrowing from the Berkshire Bank in nearby Pittsfield. It now owes the bank some $4.3 million, and in mid-February, when it failed to meet a scheduled monthly payment of $30,000, the bank sent a notice that it intended to start foreclosing unless the default was remedied promptly, Ms. Copeland said.

To stay open, she added, the Mount needs to raise $3 million by March 24. “The bank has really been very patient,” she explained. “They’re eager to help us work this out.”

If the Mount succeeds in raising that sum, Ms. Copeland said, an anonymous donor is waiting in the wings who has pledged to match it. The money could be used to help restructure the bank loan and to settle another outstanding debt, roughly $2.5 million, that the Mount incurred from a private lender in 2005 to buy Wharton’s 2,600-volume library from George Ramsden, a British book collector. The Mount also owes Mr. Ramsden roughly $885,000, to be paid off in nine yearly installments, and recently it defaulted on a scheduled payment to him, too.

“The situation is quite serious,” Sandra Boss, interim chairwoman of the Mount’s board, said in a telephone interview from London, where she works. “On the one hand, the Mount is winning awards for preservation and is internationally renowned as an institution. And it’s well run from an efficiency perspective. We’ve made great progress by cutting costs and raising revenues. On the other hand, our current debt levels are unserviceable and unsustainable. We’re not in control of our own destiny unless we can mount a restructuring of our debt.”

New Collection of Wharton's Ghost Stories

2008-02-03T08:04:00.000-08:00

I'd just like to let you know - from Peter Owen Publishers in London - that we have recently published The Demanding Dead - http://www.peterowen.com/pages/fiction/Demanding%20Dead.html, the collection of ghost stories by Edith Wharton (a companion piece to the Ghost Feeler). Members of the EWS should feel free to contact us at admin@peterowen.com with any queries etc.
Thank you

Michael O'Connell

CFP: Edith Wharton Panels at MLA 2008

2008-01-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

The Edith Wharton Society will sponsor two sessions at the MLA conference in San Francisco on December 27-30, 2008.

1. WWWD? What Would Wharton Do? Edith Wharton and Politics

What do we know about Edith Wharton’s politics? Her political persuasions? Her views on personal and institutional political responsibility in the modern world? What political concerns did she have? Was her writing ever meant to put forth any political thought, position, or agenda that she might feel important? What were her views on war? On the social problems facing the American public in the 1920s and 1930s? How applicable are her views to the current American scene? Please send abstracts (about 500 words) and short CV's by March 15th to Linda Costanzo Cahir (lcahir@kean.edu or Kean University, 1000 Morris Ave. Willis 103B, Union, NJ 07083).

2. Edith Wharton and the ‘Other Half’

This panel seeks to explore all aspects of Edith Wharton’s relationship to urban poverty. All approaches are welcome, as are papers connecting Wharton to other figures. Please send abstracts of 250-300 words and 1 page cvs to Hildegard Hoeller at hilhllr@aol.com by March 10th. This panel is organized by the Edith Wharton Society.

Glimpses of the Moon Musical

2008-01-10T19:03:00.000-08:00

Glimpses of the Moon -- A Jazz Age Musical

Many of you had the opportunity last year to see and enjoy A Time to Be Born, a musical that my talented wife, Tajlei Levis, wrote and which had a critically-acclaimed sold-out run at the Lucille Lortel Theater off-Broadway as part of the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival. The New York Times called it "an elegant adaptation ... full of catty wit and jitterbugging ... with a jazzy score and enough catchy songs to make the running time fly by."
So I am thrilled and quite proud to let you know that Tajlei has written a new show, Glimpses of the Moon -- A Jazz Age Musical, which will have its world premiere later this month at the famed Algonquin Hotel Oak Room.
Based on the novel by Edith Wharton, Glimpses of the Moon is a romantic comedy and the first musical written specifically for the clubby and elegant Oak Room -- a venue which has served as the launching pad for Harry Connick Jr., Michael Feinstein, Andrea Marcovicci, Diana Krall and notable others.
Set in 1922, an age of anything but innocence, Glimpses of the Moon follows the jazzy whirl of Manhattan society, from champagne-soaked dinner parties to luxurious vacation cottages and back to New York's elegant hotels. With plenty of friends, but little money, Susy Branch and her friend Nick Lansing devise a clever scheme to live beyond their means. They’ll marry and live off the wedding gifts, while they help one another find and trade up to suitable millionaires. The plan works perfectly – until they fall in love.
The show is directed by Marc Bruni (Assoc. Director of Legally Blonde and Grease) and features a terrific Broadway and off-Broadway cast of six. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/113945.html Each performance will also showcase a different special guest star appearing as a cabaret singer from the 20’s. Currently slated to appear are Tony-nominees Liz Larsen (The Most Happy Fella and Law & Order), Alison Fraser (The Secret Garden and Romance/Romance) and Anita Gillette (Chapter Two ); and Emmy Award winner Susan Lucci (All My Children).
Opening night is (Monday) January 21st, with an initial eight-week run (through March 10th). Performances are every Monday evening at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available by calling the Oak Room at (212) 419-9331 or by email at BMCGURN@algonquinhotel.com. More information is available at: www.GlimpsesOfTheMoon.com. -- The show is quite fun. I hope you will be able to come.

Recent queries at the Wharton Society Site

2007-12-26T09:18:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent unanswered queries received at the Wharton Society site. If you have some answers, please sent your replies to whartonqueries at gmail.com and I'll post them. --Donna Campbell

Ethan Frome: what happened after his mother's death?

Ethan Frome is presented for the defense, a man on the way to adultery with a dependent in his own home but not yet completely conscious of his desires and not yet planning to carry them out. His wife believe something that has not occurred Therefore we should excuse and pity him.
Does no reader see that in the quarrel near the end of the story Zeena says "my family said at the time that you could do no less than marry me after---"
Ethan is horrified as though both had decided never to mention what had taken place after his mother's death. He retreats into dreams because he does not want his mistake to be repeated. What do you readers think?

12/22/07

***************************

PBS adaptation of a Wharton story?

Several years ago, PBS ran what I believe was a one-part Masterpiece Theatre based on a Wharton story about a young rural girl whose boyfriend was killed in an industrial accident. He left her money to pursue her musical studies, and she went to Paris to study piano. However, her teacher recommended she switch from piano to voice, and she eventually becomes a major American opera singer.

Can you tell me the title of that short story and if it is available on DVD?

Steffan Aletti
sbaletti at aol.com 12/22/07

***************
The Reef: Unexpected Obstacle? I’ve just read The Reef and I have a question: What is the “unexpected obstacle” that Anna telegraphs Darrow about at the beginning of the novel? The reader is never given a clue. Is incest an unheralded subplot of this novel, or is the telegram just an obvious plot device to get Darrow and Sophy Viner together? The scene with Anna and Owen before Darrow arrives seems innocuous, but I wonder if there was something going on between them. And at the end, when Anna bids a tearful goodbye to Owen, is there more to it than the fact that Sophy is out of Owen’s life?

Brian Kelly 11/10/07
************

"The Valley of Childish Things"

Could you please tell me where and when The Valley of Childish things was published?

Regards,

Allyson Bird.
***********

Hudson River Bracketed

i am teacher in litterature. i am preparing a course on edith wharton 's books " hudson river bracketed" and " the gods arrive". i am looking for papers and comtemporary rewiews about these two books in order to make a bibliography, can you tell where i can find them on your website or anywhere else on the web?

thanks for your help
christel Manrique
litterature teacher 9/29/07

***************
Ferrigiani

I work in the education department at the Ponce Art Museum. Right now we are involved in a project sponsored by the NEA, The Big Read.For this project the Museum chose The Age of Innocence. I would like to know if the Ferrigiani mentioned by Old Mrs. Mingott ,who modelled her hands in Rome really existed. If so, can you tell me were to find information about him? I would be very grateful for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Ana E.Bauza 9/29/07

*******
Edith Wharton: A Portrait by Augustus M. Gerdes?

I am working with a collector who has what may be an early painting of Edith Wharton by Augustus M. Gerdes, a friend of Morton Fullerton. Mr. Gerdes was a painter who studied in Paris and would have had the financial background to be in the circle of artists, writers and other collectors. His lifelong passion was art and collecting. Descendants of his family have felt for years that there may have been more than a friendship between Mrs. Wharton and Mr. Gerdes. Do you or any of your members have any information on Augustus M. Gerdes and Edith Wharton? Thank you for your assistance in this matter and I have no problems with my name and email being posted.

John Coker 6/21/07

Age of Innocence on TCM December 28, 2007

2007-12-26T09:06:00.002-08:00

The 1934 adaptation of Wharton's The Age of Innocence will be shown on Turner Classic Movies at 6:30 a.m. ET (3:30 a.m. PT) on December 28, 2007. This film is not available on VHS or DVD, so its periodic showings on TCM are the only way to see it.

Wharton sessions at MLA 2007

2007-12-26T09:06:00.001-08:00

#

dith Wharton Sessions at MLA 2007

Saturday, 29 December

513. Beyond Pro- or Anti-: Toward the Politics of Race in Edith Wharton’s Fiction

1:45–3:00 p.m., Grand Suite 2, Hyatt Regency

Program arranged by the Edith Wharton Society

Presiding: Meredith Lynn Goldsmith, Ursinus Coll.

1. “Reading the ‘Sojourn in Exotic Lands’: Edith Wharton’s ‘Xingu,’” Laura Anne Lomas, Rutgers Univ., Newark

2. “‘Constitutional Restlessness’: The Ambiguity of Race in The Custom of the Country,” John Bruni, Colorado School of Mines

3. “The Age of Innocence and Reconstruction-Postreconstruction Contexts,” Jonathan Hayes, Univ. of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
#

Sunday, 30 December

745. Edith Wharton and Illness, Followed by Business Meeting

1:45–3:00 p.m., San Francisco, Hyatt Regency

Program arranged by the Edith Wharton Society

Presiding: Hildegard Maria Hoeller, Coll. of Staten Island, City Univ. of New York

1. “Standing Tall or Lying Still: The Impact of Spinal Impairment on Individual Subjectivity in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome and The Fruit of the Tree,” Cyndy Hall, Univ. of California, Riverside

2. “Circulatory Disorders in The Custom of the Country,” Caroline Guény, Université de Paris 3, Sorbonne Nouvelle

3. “Wandering Women and the Dangers of Contagion in Edith Wharton’s The Old Maid and ‘Roman Fever,’” Lisa L. Tyler, Sinclair Community Coll., OH

Respondent: Hildegard Maria Hoeller

Lily Bart's Death: Suicide or Accident?

2007-11-21T09:39:00.001-08:00

A recently discovered letter by Edith Wharton sheds light on Lily Bart's death (from the New York Times at Edith Wharton in the News).

Glimpses of the Moon, a new musical adaptation

2007-11-18T11:23:00.001-08:00

We invite members of the Edith Wharton Society and friends to attend the world premiere of the new musical adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1922 novel, GLIMPSES OF THE MOON. This sparkling Jazz Age musical will be presented at the famed Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan on Monday evenings, starting on Jan 14, 2008 .

Glimpses of the Moon is one of Wharton's rare comedies, though not without its share of heartaches. Popular but penniless, Suzy Branch and her friend Nick Lansing devise the ultimate fund-raising scheme: to marry and live off the wedding gifts while they help each to find suitable millionaires. The plan works perfectly-- until they fall in love.

This new adaptation written by Tajlei Levis & John Mercurio, and directed by Marc Bruni, features a cast of six actors, three musicians and special guest appearances by popular cabaret artists. Marc Bruni is currently the Associate Director of Legally Blonde and Grease on Broadway.

Levis and Mercurio previously collaborated on an adaptation of Dawn Powell's 1942 novel A Time to be Born, which had a sold-out run at the Lucille Lortel Theatre as part of the New York International Fringe Festival. The New York Times called that production "an elegant adaptation…full of catty wit and jitterbugging. The jazzy score - full of catchy numbers - made the running time fly by." Composer John Mercurio is a Jonathan Larson award winner whose musical Diva Diaries played to packed houses at the Broward and Tampa Bay Performing Arts Centers and the Lakeshore Theatre in Chicago.

Shows are at 8pm Monday evenings, January 14- March 3, 2008.

The Algonquin Hotel is located at 59 West 44th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenue, in Manhattan.
For reservations, please call the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel at 212-419-9331 or email GlimpsesMusical @ Gmail dot com.

From the New Yorker

2007-11-11T20:25:00.001-08:00

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12 at 6PM
Tenement Museum Shop, 108 Orchard Street

EDITH WHARTON’S NEW YORK
How the OTHER Other Half Lives

Learn how New York City shaped novelist Edith Wharton’s writing. Join us for a panel discussion with Wharton scholar
Hildegard Hoeller and Roxana Robinson, editor of the new collection The New York Stories of Edith Wharton.

About the panelists:

Hildegard Hoeller is associate professor of English at the City University of New York, where she teaches 19th and early twentieth century American literature. She is the current president of the Edith Wharton society and has worked on Wharton since the late 1980s. Her first book, Edith Wharton's Dialogue with Realism and Sentimental Fiction (2000), focused on Wharton's response to these literary traditions.

Roxana Robinson is the author of three novels, three short story collections, and a biography. She has been published in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The New York Times, Vogue, and many other publications. She is a trustee emeritus of American PEN and currently teaches at the New School. Newsweek has compared her fiction to that of Edith Wharton’s.

DETAILS:
F to Delancey; B/D to Grand
212-982-8420
HYPERLINK "mailto:bookclub@tenement.org"bookclub@tenement.org
FREE and open to the public

Edie Thornton

2007-10-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

We at the Edith Wharton Society are saddened by the recent death of Edie Thornton, our vice president, on October 2, 2007. A wonderful colleague, scholar, mentor, and friend, Edie was associated with the Wharton Society for many years, and she will be sorely missed. A memorial page is available on the site of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for those who wish to leave a remembrance (https://guestbook2007.uww.edu/guestbook.aspx), and the Wharton Society will also pay tribute to her at the Wharton conference this June.

--Donna Campbell, Webmaster

Digital Americanists

2007-10-04T07:46:00.001-07:00

Dear Colleagues:

We are pleased to announce the formation of a new professional organization designed to support the scholarship and teaching of American literature and culture using digital media. The Digital Americanists was formally brought to life at this year's American Literature Association in Boston, and in the past couple of months we have established the necessary frameworks to begin officially filling our membership rolls.

At our new wiki-based website, http://www.digitalamericanists.org, you will find the constitution, an initial list of members, an initial list of associated digital projects, a bibliography of resources, some sample classroom syllabi and activities, and information on how to become a member along with a description of the privileges of membership.

After you've become a member and paid the modest $10 annual fee (which can be done conveniently online), we invite you to help build the wiki by adding information about yourself, your digital projects, your teaching, and whatever else you feel would be of interest to this community.

Please join us in our efforts to create a vibrant organization that can support this growing field of American literature scholarship.

Andrew Jewell, President
Edward Whitley, Vice-President
Amanda Gailey, Secretary/Treasurer

CFP: Wharton sessions at ALA 2008

2007-10-03T19:11:00.001-07:00

CFP, American Literature Association, May 2008

1. Edith Wharton and the Culture of Celebrity.

Wharton’s treatment of literary, musical, and theatrical celebrity; fans, obsessive and otherwise; the meanings of stardom and fame in Wharton’s fiction; being in and out of the spotlight. All approaches welcome; papers on Wharton’s lesser-known works would be especially appreciated. Please send 1-page abstracts and brief c.v.’s to Meredith Goldsmith (mgoldsmith@ursinus.edu) by January 15, 2008.

2. Representations of Wharton in the Mass Media

How has Wharton been represented, both during and after her lifetime, in the mass media (including, but not limited to, reviews, visual images, advertisements, obituaries, fictional texts, architectural and design texts, newspapers, magazines, film, radio, television, tourist and historical site brochures, internet sites, and so forth). What aspects of Wharton’s life, identity, or career are privileged or omitted in these texts and for what purpose? What is the relationship between the persona constructed in these texts and the private and public persona that Wharton herself constructed? What is the relationship between Wharton’s mass media representation and her fiction? All approaches are welcome. Please send a 1-page abstract and brief c.v. to Gary Totten (gary.totten@ndsu.edu) by January 15, 2008.

Calls for Papers on Edith Wharton

2007-09-09T16:51:00.001-07:00

Call for Papers
Edith Wharton Conference in Lenox, Massachusetts, June 26-28, 2008 "Edith Wharton and History"
Deadline: 20 January 2008

The broad theme of this conference, organized by the Edith Wharton Society, aims to bring historical, cultural, and literary contexts to Wharton's life and all of her work. Please send abstracts of no more than 1000 words and a one-page cv to Carol Singley [singley@camden.rutgers.edu] by January 20th, 2008.

Possible topics include:

Edith Wharton and women's history and women's studies

Edith Wharton and women's writing
Edith Wharton in the work of others (her influence on others, her appearance in the work of others)
Historicizing aspects of Wharton's work
Edith Wharton and popular culture
Edith Wharton and cultural phenomena and practices
Edith Wharton and illness, addiction, etc.
Edith Wharton and publishing

CFP, American Literature Association, May 2008: Edith Wharton and the Culture of Celebrity.

Wharton’s treatment of literary, musical, and theatrical celebrity; fans, obsessive and otherwise; the meanings of stardom and fame in Wharton’s fiction; being in and out of the spotlight. All approaches welcome; papers on Wharton’s lesser-known works would be especially appreciated. Please send 1-page abstracts and brief c.v.’s to Meredith Goldsmith (mgoldsmith@ursinus.edu) by January 15, 2008.

CFP: Claiming Space in Edith Wharton's Novels; NeMLA April 10-13, 2008 Buffalo, NY

In The House of Mirth, Lily Bart declares "How delicious to have a place like this all to one's self! What a miserable thing it is to be a woman."
Lily speaks to the unwritten rule that women cannot live alone. She speaks to her desire to have a space, whether physical or metaphorical, of her own, a space where she can live her own life. This panel explores physical and metaphorical spaces in Wharton's novels and specifically address Wharton's female characters and how they experience, manipulate, and claim space. Email abstracts of 250-500 words by Sept. 15, 2007 to Miranda
Green-Barteet: mgreen-barteet@tamu.edu.

---
Miranda Green-Barteet
English Department
Texas A&M University
#
The Edith Wharton Essay Prize

Call for Submissions

Deadline: October 1, 2007

The Edith Wharton Essay Prize is awarded annually for the best unpublished essay on Edith Wharton by a beginning scholar. Graduate students, independent scholars, and faculty members who have not held a tenure-track or full-time appointment for more than four years are eligible to submit their work.

The winning essay will be published in The Edith Wharton Review, a peer-reviewed journal indexed in the MLA Bibliography , and the writer will receive an award of $250.

All entries will be considered for publication in The Edith Wharton Review as well as for the Edith Wharton Essay Prize. Submissions should be 15-25 pages in length and should follow the new 6 th edition MLA style, using endnotes, not footnotes.

Applicants should not identify themselves on the manuscript but should provide a separate cover page that includes their names, academic status, e-mail address, postal addresses, and the notation “The Edith Wharton Essay Prize.”

To submit an essay for the prize, send three copies by October 1, 2007, to either of the editors of The Edith Wharton Review:

Prof. Carole M. Shaffer-Koros, Editor
Dean, School of Visual and Performing Arts
VE-114A
Kean University
Union, NJ 07083

Prof. Linda Costanzo Cahir, Co-editor
Willis 105K
Kean University
Union, NJ 07083

Call for Nominations: EWS Executive Board

2007-07-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

Nomination Form for the EWS Executive Board and Secretary Positions

Members of the Edith Wharton Society are invited to nominate candidates for an at-large membership on the Executive Board. Self-nominations are also permitted.

The following positions must be filled in 2007:

1. Two members of the Executive Board must be elected to replace members whose terms are expiring on January 1, 2008.

The terms for the new Executive Board members and the Secretary will be from January 1, 2008-January 1, 2010.

Deadline for nominations: August 15, 2007.

Duties of Board Members:

1. Board members customarily serve for two years and are expected to attend Board meetings and EWS business meetings at conferences (when possible).
2. Board members are expected to participate in e-mail discussions of Board business.
3. Board members are expected to referee articles for the Edith Wharton Review.

For more information on the duties of an Executive Board member or Secretary, see Sections VI and VII of the Constitution of the Edith Wharton Society.

Both nominator and proposed nominee must be members of the Edith Wharton Society. Please check this information before nominating someone, since nominations not meeting this requirement will not be placed on the ballot.

You will also need to provide the following information:

1. The person's name, address, e-mail address, and qualifications for serving.
2. Your name, address, and e-mail address (to confirm the nomination).
3. Assurance that the proposed nominee is willing to run and, if elected, to serve on the board.

If you would like to nominate someone, please provide the information below and send the nomination e-mail to Margaret Murray, drmpm@snet.net.
1.This nomination is for ___ Board Member __Secretary
2.If this is a nomination for EWS Secretary, has the person served previously on the EWS Board? ___Yes ____No
3.Name of proposed board member:
3a. Have you confirmed the prospective nominee's willingness to run for this office? ___Yes ___No
3b. Is this person a member of the Wharton Society? ___Yes ___No ___Don't know
3c. Are you a member of the Wharton Society? ___Yes ___No
4. Address (Postal and e-mail):

5. Qualifications for serving on the EWS Board or as EWS Secretary (include previous service, writings on Wharton, participation in scholarship or conferences related to Edith Wharton, etc.). These will be presented to the membership.

6. Your Name:
7. Your E-mail Address (required for confirming the nomination):
8. Other comments or information:

Edith Wharton Essay Prize

2007-07-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

The Edith Wharton Essay Prize

Call for Submissions

Deadline: October 1, 2007

The Edith Wharton Essay Prize is awarded annually for the best unpublished essay on Edith Wharton by a beginning scholar. Graduate students, independent scholars, and faculty members who have not held a tenure-track or full-time appointment for more than four years are eligible to submit their work.

The winning essay will be published in The Edith Wharton Review, a peer-reviewed journal indexed in the MLA Bibliography , and the writer will receive an award of $250.

All entries will be considered for publication in The Edith Wharton Review as well as for the Edith Wharton Essay Prize. Submissions should be 15-25 pages in length and should follow the new 6 th edition MLA style, using endnotes, not footnotes.

Applicants should not identify themselves on the manuscript but should provide a separate cover page that includes their names, academic status, e-mail address, postal addresses, and the notation “The Edith Wharton Essay Prize.”

To submit an essay for the prize, send three copies by October 1, 2007, to either of the editors of The Edith Wharton Review:

Prof. Carole M. Shaffer-Koros, Editor
Dean, School of Visual and Performing Arts
VE-114A
Kean University
Union, NJ 07083

Prof. Linda Costanzo Cahir, Co-editor
Willis 105K
Kean University
Union, NJ 07083

Wharton Panels at ALA 2007

2007-05-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

Edith Wharton Sessions at ALA 2007

Friday, May 25, 2007

5:00 – 6:20 pm

Session 15-H Edith Wharton, Addiction and Compulsion

Organized by The Edith Wharton Society

Chair: Edie Thornton, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater

1. "It's better to watch": Compulsive Voyeurism and The Custom of the Country,"

Jessica Schubert McCarthy, Wachington State University

2. From Cigarettes to Chloral: Addiction and Commodity Culture in The House of

Mirth," Meredith Goldsmith, Ursinus College

3. "Edith Wharton, Compulsion and the Unpublished Writings," Laura Rattray,

University of Hull, United Kingdom

Saturday, May 26, 2007

8:00 – 9:20 am

Session 16-A Edith Wharton in the Work of Others

Organized by the Edith Wharton Society

Chair: Hildegard Hoeller, College of Staten Island, City University of New York

1. “Quicksands and Sanctuaries: Edith Wharton and Nella Larsen,” Emily J. Orlando, Tennessee State University

2. “Edith Wharton and Susan Minot: Influences and Innovations,” Carol Singley, Rutgers University, Camden

3. “From Lily Bart to Amaryllis: Mrs. Porter’s Challenge to Mrs. Wharton,” Pamela Knights, Durham University

4. “The Influence of Edith Wharton on Candace Bushnell,” Stephanie Harzewski, University of Pennsylvania

Audio Visual Equipment Required: None

Saturday, May 26, 2007

9:30 – 10:50 am

Session 17-M Business Meeting: Edith Wharton Society

Trip to Morocco in October 2007

2007-03-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

From Stephanie Copeland at The Mount. Visit http://www.edithwharton.org and http://www.edithwharton.org/events/toursabroad-morocco.php for more details about this trip.

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to join us in retracing Edith Wharton’s 1917 journey through Morocco, the mysterious sun-drenched land she likened to the pages of an “illuminated Persian manuscript all embroidered with bright shapes and subtle lines.”

Wharton was mesmerized by Morocco, a crossroads of East and West and a kingdom as geographically diverse as it is culturally rich. Her fascination with this country is often overlooked, but the awe with which she greeted its vast deserts, high mountains, palm oases, and groves of citrus and olive trees is undeniable. She reveled in Morocco’s rich architectural tradition and fastidiously studied the customs of its inhabitants. Like Wharton, we will travel to the red and white cities of Rabat and Salé, medieval Fes, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, and legendary Marrakech, and we will even have the rare opportunity to explore a remote Berber village in the Atlas mountains.

World War I was raging when Wharton traveled the country in a military motorcar… without even a guidebook, as no guidebook had yet been written. Thankfully we can now rely on her 1920 travelogue, In Morocco. Using her groundbreaking essays as a guide, we will travel as Wharton traveled, with the very best in food and lodging and informed by expert tour leaders.

The Mount is collaborating with Piotr Kostrzewski of Cross Cultural Adventures to create a highly specialized, intimate tour of Morocco’s cultural and artistic treasures. Mr. Kostrzewski is a longtime admirer of Wharton’s travel book and has been leading customized tours of Morocco for twenty-five years, opening doors to private homes, palaces and gardens unattainable to any but the most privileged. Wharton experts from The Mount will be on hand to discuss Edith Wharton’s life and work in the context of her travels, providing unknown glimpses of both the great novelist and the country so rarely associated with her.

Edith Wharton’s Morocco offers participants the singular opportunity to see Morocco through Edith Wharton’s eyes. Space is limited to twenty-five travelers, so I encourage you to return the enclosed reservation form as soon as possible.

I hope you will join us October 13 – 25, 2007.

CFP: Wharton Panels at MLA 2007

2007-01-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

MLA 2007

The Edith Wharton Society will sponsor two panels at the 2007 MLA in Chicago. Presenters must be members of the Edith Wharton Society; nonmembers submitting proposals may join after their proposal is accepted.

1. Beyond Pro- or Anti-: Toward Edith Wharton’s Racial Politics. Readings sought that grapple with Wharton’s complex racial politics, moving beyond viewing her as either sympathetic or hostile to difference. Regional, national, global approaches welcome. Abstracts and c.v.s to Meredith Goldsmith by March 10. mgoldsmith@ursinus.edu

2. Edith Wharton and Illness
This panel wants to explore the significant role illness (and health) played in Wharton's life, context, and works. All approaches to this topic are welcome. Please send abstracts (about 500 words) and short CV's by March 10th to Hildegard Hoeller (hilhllr@aol.com or at 29 Gail Court, Staten Island NY 10306.

Results from the Edith Wharton Society Executive Board Elections

2007-01-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

Officers

President (2007-2009):
Hildegard Hoeller, CUNY-Staten Island

Vice President (2007-2009):
Edie Thornton, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater

Secretary (2007-2009):
Margaret Murray, Western Connecticut State University

Treasurer: Carole Shaffer-Koros, Kean University

Current At-large Executive Board Members

Katherine Joslin, Western Michigan University (January 1, 2007-January 1, 2009)
Meredith Goldsmith, Ursinus College (January 1, 2007-January 1, 2009)
Gary Totten, North Dakota State University (January 1, 2007-January 1, 2009)
Laura Saltz, Colby College (2003-2005; re-elected January 1, 2005-January 1, 2007; January 1, 2007-January 1, 2009)
Betsy Klimasmith, University of Massachusetts-Amherst (January 1, 2006-January 1, 2008)
Emily Orlando, Tennessee State University (January 1, 2006-January 1, 2008)

The Co-editors of the Edith Wharton Review, Carole Shaffer-Koros and Linda Costanzo-Cahir, also serve on the Executive Board.

Edith Wharton Beinecke Research Award

2006-12-11T20:38:00.000-08:00

Edith Wharton Beinecke Research Award

Deadline: March 1, 2007

Each year the Edith Wharton Society offers a Edith Wharton Beinecke Research Award of $1500 to enable a scholar to conduct research on the Wharton materials at the Beinecke Library at Yale University.

Prospective fellows for the 2007-2008 award are asked to submit a research proposal (maximum length 5 single-spaced pages) and a resume by March 1, 2007 to Hildegard Hoeller at hilhllr@aim.com or at 29 Gail Court, Staten Island NY 10306.

The research proposal should detail the overall research project, its particular contribution to Wharton scholarship, the pre parati on the candidate brings to the project, and the specific relevance that materials at the Beinecke collection have for its completion. The funds need to be used for transportation, lodging, and other expenses related to a stay at the library.

Notification of the award will take place by April 15th and the award can be used from May 1, 2007 till May 1, 2008. A final report will be due June 1, 2008.

Edith Wharton Society Dinner at MLA 2006

2006-12-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

The Edith Wharton Society is sponsoring a dinner event at the 2006 MLA Convention in Philadelphia. The dinner will be at 7 p.m. on December 28, 2006, at

Ristorante La Buca
711 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 928-0556

The restaurant is about 8 blocks from the Marriott.

Please send your check in US funds for $35 for members and $45 for non-members per person and the reservation form by

December 10, 2006

to

Carole Shaffer-Koros
VE 114A
1000 Morris Avenue
Kean University
Union, NJ 07083

If you have mislaid the sign-up form from the recent _Edith Wharton Review_, a printable form suitable for sending with your check is available here: http://www.edithwhartonsociety.org/whartondinner2006.htm

Edith Wharton Stories Performed

2006-11-22T13:30:00.000-08:00

From Helene Davis:

SYMPHONY SPACE RELEASES TWO NEW SELECTED SHORTS CD SETS: EDITH WHARTON and FALLING IN LOVE

Read By KATHLEEN CHALFANT, MARIA TUCCI, JANE CURTIN, FIONNULA FLANAGAN, WILLIAM HURT & OTHERS

New York, NY, November 22, 2006 - Symphony Space has released two new CD sets from its award-winning National Public Radio series, Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story: Falling In Love and Edith Wharton. The series, which presents Broadway and Hollywood actors reading classic and new short stories, is now in its 20th radio season.

EDITH WHARTON (2-CD set: running time, 2 hours)

EDITH WHARTON features five stories which were recorded live at the Mount, the Massachusetts home of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was best known for her stories and ironic novels about upper class people. Wharton's central subjects were the conflict between social and individual fulfillment, repressed sexuality, and the manners of old families and the 'nouveau riche,' who had made their fortunes in more recent years.

Mrs. Manstey’s View, read by Kathleen Chalfant. You are what you view - an Edith Wharton-era real estate story.
Roman Fever, read by Maria Tucci.What happened that night in Rome so long ago? The secret revealed.
The Reckoning, read by Brenda Wehle. The high price of marital harmony.
Xingu, read by Christina Pickles. Wild goings-on at a ladies' book group.

FALLING IN LOVE (3-CD set, running time 3 hours)

This new 3-CD set features the following stories, which were recorded live at Symphony Space in NYC:

Fires by Rick Bass, read by Ted Marcoux. In the Rockies a woman sets fire to a parched field to take the plunge into the pool of love.
The Winnowing of Mrs. Schuping by Padgett Powell, read by Christina Pickles. An eccentric southern dame cleans up her act and finds love.
The Lone Pilgrim by Laurie Colwin, read by Hope Davis. A New York artist longs for love and marital domesticity.
Melisande by E. Nesbit, read by Jane Curtin. A delicious fairy tale about a princess with a terrible curse.
Violets by Edna O’Brien, read by Fionnula Flanagan. A subtle portrait of a woman caught in an impossible affair.
Travis, B. by Maile Meloy, read by William Hurt. A Western love story between a lonesome cowboy and a city gal.

The CD sets are available on the Symphony Space website, at www.symphonyspace.org. For information on any Symphony Space program or event, call (212) 864-5400.

GENERAL INFORMATION

For nearly 30 years, Symphony Space has been producing and presenting artistically and culturally diverse music, dance, literary, theatre, family, and film programs that bring artists and audiences together in an atmosphere of exploration and intimacy. One of New York’s preeminent and most reasonably priced cultural resources, and a leader in adventurous programming, its signature events include Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story, hosted by Isaiah Sheffer and nationally broadcast on public radio; Bloomsday on Broadway readings; Upper West Fest, a three-week cultural extravaganza involving more than twenty neighborhood institutions; and Wall to Wall music events and other marathons, which The New York Times called Symphony Space’s “annual gift to New York City.” Symphony Space’s programs reach audiences throughout New York and, via its touring and media program, the nation. Symphony Space also serves thousands of New York City schoolchildren each year via its Curriculum Arts Project, one of the oldest and most respected arts education programs in existence. Symphony Space’s Artistic Director is Isaiah Sheffer; Executive Director, Cynthia Elliott; and Managing Director, Peggy Wreen.

Ethan Frome on BBC America (January 7, 2007)

2006-10-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

Ethan Frome, featuring Liam Neeson, Joan Allen and Patricia Arquette in an adaptation of Edith Wharton’s classic novel, will broadcast on BBC America on January 3 at 7 p.m.

Recent Queries

2006-10-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

Edith Wharton, Fabric Designer?

did Edith Wharton design fabric for Shumacher depicting the fable Le Meunier, son fils and l'ane ? I have come across a beautiful linen tapestry with Edith Wharton listed as a credit.

Thanks, Betsy Jackson 10/23/06

******************
Address of Pavillon Colombe Dear Madams, dear Sirs,

I would like to ask if you may give me the address of Edith Wharton's house in St. Brice sous forêt near by Paris, becaus I would like to visit it.
Or do you have some other information about the house, whether there is a museum etc.?

Thank you very much, I am a fascinated reader of Edith Wharton from Germany

Kind regards
Anja Koenenanjabip at gmx.de

The only information we have is that the house is on the rue Edith Wharton. It's a private residence, so as far as I know there is no museum there.

http://www.saintbrice95.fr/ville/histoire/demeures/33.htm

D. Campbell

*******************
Macmillan Edition (1907) Madame de Treymes

As part of an auction lot we've come across a first UK edition of Madame de Treymes published by Macmillan in 1907 in orange boards. We can't find references anywhere to this edition - are you able to shed any light for us please? Many thanks. Mark Crocker

mark at mcrocker.co.uk

10/10/06
****************

Age of Innocence on TCM, December 20, 2006

2006-10-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

The 1934 film version of The Age of Innocence will be shown on Turner Classic Movies on December 20, 2006, at 10:30 a.m. This film is not available on video or DVD, so if you want to see it, this is probably your only chance this year.

Query: Obtaining a copy of SUMMER (movie, 1981)

2006-10-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

My daughter was in the TV movie "Summer" in 1981. I would like to obtain a copy of the movie for her, for her 36th birthday this October. The movie was filmed in 1990 - some of it in New Hampshire. Any idea where I can find a copy?

Marilyn Wood
emontpelier at yahoo dot com

The Edith Wharton Essay Prize (Deadline: 10/30/06)

2006-09-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

The Edith Wharton Essay Prize

The Edith Wharton Essay Prize is awarded annually for the best unpublished essay on Edith Wharton by a beginning scholar. Graduate students, independent scholars, and faculty members who have not held a tenure-track or full-time appointment for more than four years are eligible to submit their work.

The winning essay will be published in The Edith Wharton Review, a peer-reviewed journal, and the writer will receive an award of $250.

All entries will be considered for publication in The Edith Wharton Review as well as for the Edith Wharton Essay Prize. Submissions should be 15-25 pages in length and should follow the new 6 th edition MLA style, using endnotes, not footnotes.

Applicants should not identify themselves on the manuscript but should provide a separate cover page that includes their names, academic status, e-mail address, postal addresses, and the notation “The Edith Wharton Essay Prize.”

To submit an essay for the prize, send three copies by 30 October 2006 to either of the editors of The Edith Wharton Review:

Prof. Carole M. Shaffer-Koros
Dean of the School of Visual and Performing Arts
VE-114A
Kean University
Union, NJ 07083

Prof. Linda Costanzo-Cahir
W 1091
Kean University
Union, NJ 07083

New Queries

2006-08-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Here are some new queries from the Wharton Society site. If you have any replies, please send them to whartonqueries at yahoo dot com. Thanks.

Wharton and Electricity

Hi all,
Is there someone who's written on electricity in Wharton's works? I seem to recall hearing a conference paper about this years ago, but I didn't find anything when on the MLA bibliography.

Thanks in advance,
Meredith Goldsmith
Assistant Professor of English
Ursinus College
mgoldsmith at ursinus dot edu

"The Confessional" Is there any printed edition of the short story "The Confessional"?

Thank you for your help
Giulietta Bertoni

8/23/06

EW at the Paris World's Fair of 1889? For a book about the Paris World's Fair of 1889, I wonder if anyone can tell me if Edith Wharton was a visitor and if there are any of her letters or journals from the summer of 1889 describing her visit.

jill jonnes jonnes at starpower dot com

8/23/06

Name: ingrid Christophersen Question: Would you be kind enough and let me know whether the Pavillion Colombe in Saint Brice is open to the public. Many thanks, kind regards, Ingrid Christophersen

SUBMIT: Submit Form

Edition of Madame de Treymes

As part of an auction lot we've come across a first UK edition of Madame de Treymes published by Macmillan in 1907 in orange boards. We can't find references anywhere to this edition - are you able to shed any light for us please? Many thanks.

Mark Crockermark at mcrocker.co.uk 8/23/06

Letters from Wharton to Morton Fullerton

I am doing research for a film and wanted to know the specifics in regard to the discovery or the letters of Edith Wharton to Morton Fullerton which are now housed at the University of Texas in Austin. I would like to know the following:

When were the letters discovered? (mm/dd/yy if possible)

Where were they discovered? What city or town? More specifically, were they in a desk drawer, an attic, etc.

Who discovered them?

Any other information would be greatly appreciated.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Dan

Daniel Lettieri

Epigraph of Age of Innocence

In a Norton Classical Edition of "The Age of Innocence" there is an article by Jennifer Rae Greeson discussing three outlines of "The Age..." Edith Wharton wrote before its final publication. The editor (Candace Waid) remarked that shortly before this volume was published Jennifer Rae Greeson doscovered a sort of epigraph (in quotation marks) on the last of the original outlines, on the top of the page. It is probably written in Arabic. Can somebody tell me what this short quotation means?
thank you
MAGDALENA PERDEK

magdalen22 at poczta.fm

7/23/06

"Sara" or "Sally" Clayburn in "All Souls"?

Wharton's short story 'All Souls'' describes what happened to the character named Sara Clayburn. In the Library of America 2001 edition (Collected Stories 1911-1937) p.799 appears the name 'Sally Clayburn' instead. This name isn't repeated in the rest of the story and, if I'm not mistaken, doesn't refer to any other possible character. Is it a mistake, or should I reread the text to understand it better? Armelle Chastrusse, chastrusse at hotmail.com 6/28/06

Buccaneers Miniseries now on DVD

2006-04-14T16:38:00.000-07:00

Buccaneers Miniseries now on DVD

`The Buccaneers' miniseries gets better with age
By R.D. Heldenfels
Akron Beacon Journal

DVD pick of week: When The Buccaneers aired on Masterpiece Theatre in 1995, I called it "a wonderful story of money and class, romantic love and marriages of convenience, of England and the United States."

More than a decade later, the DVD (BBC Video, five parts on one two-sided disc, $14.98) found me liking it even more.

Based on an unfinished Edith Wharton novel, the miniseries involved young women trying to succeed in London society after failing to make a dent in America's upper crust.

New Queries (Jan-April 2006)

2006-04-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

QUERIES:

"Beatrice Palmato" criticism

I am currently researching my Masters dissertation on Edith Wharton particularly representations of art, money and gender/sexuality in The House of Mirth and The Custom of the Country. I am hoping to draw in the extract "Beatrice Palmato" but am struggling to find any criticism on the text that focusses on the explicit sexuality without recourse to the incestuous nature of it. The only article I can find is Reinaldo Francisco Silva's "Eroticizing the Other in Edith Wharton's "Beatrice Palmato"", can anyone recommend anything else, or even another example of such extraordinary explicitness on the part of Wharton? Thanks for your help.

Kate Ashton, kateashton179@hotmail.com

4/7/06
*****************

Wharton's WWI essays

Edith Wharton's WWI essays. I will appreciate help locating any of the essays she wrote about/during the war.

Thanks, Beverly Simpson bsimpson@rcn.com

3/21/06

REPLY: Regarding Wharton's World War I essays: those she published in Scribner's Magazine were collected in the volume _Fighting France_. (This is out of print but can probably be obtained through Interlibrary Loan.) She wrote many other articles as well, some of which are collected in Appendix B of my 2004 book, _Edith Wharton's Writings from the Great War_ (University Press of Florida).

--Julie Olin-Ammentorp, 4/7/06

*****************

Real-life Undine Spragg?

Among the many candidates who might be possible real-life sources/inspirations/models for the figure of Undine Spragg in The Custom of the Country, has Ethel Tree Beatty ever been suggested?

She was the ambitious, rich and American-born wife of the English WWI Admiral Sir David Beatty. To marry Beatty, she abandoned claim to her son by her first husband. When he died some years later, she had a messenger inform her son (then at his father's bedside) that after the death he would need to come with her. She also had to pull strings to be received at the Royal Court, because the divorced were generally not received by the monarch.

She had two children during her marriage with Beatty, one of whom was generally known not to have been Sir David's.

There are other details in her life that suggest her as a model for Undine.

As a longtime Wharton reader and admirer, I would appreciate any guidance.

Thanks.
Douglas Haneline, hanelind@ferris.edu 3/21/06

****************

Theatre Adaptations of Wharton's Works

Hello - I'm looking for any recommendations for theatre adaptations of Wharton's novels. We're a new London-based company looking specifically for adaptations of female writers' work. If anyone has any recommendations, I would love to hear them, particularly if they have yet to be produced in the UK. Louise Hilllouisechill@hotmail.com

REPLY: The Mint Theater Company in New York has put on several adaptations of Wharton's works and might have suggestions.

If readers have other suggestions, please send them to the site.

**Update 3/24/06****

Regarding Louise Hill's inquiry about theater adaptations of Wharton novels: Mint Theater Company in New York has published the dramatization of The House of Mirth that Wharton wrote herself in 1906, along with playwright Clyde Fitch. The Mint text revises the play somewhat using material from the novel. Mint also has a copy of the Margaret Ayer Barnes' 1928 dramatization of The Age of Innocence. For more information please contact Mint Artistic Director Jonathan Bank: jbank@minttheater.org
***********
Edith Wharton--travel to San Francisco?

Did Edith Wharton ever visit San Francisco?

Deborah Doyle zorrah@well.com 3/9/06

*************

Wharton's family--New York?

Can you tell me if Edith Wharton's family originated in New York City society and if the family name is related to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. I know from my own New Jersey family that many of the old names came from one root. I am thinking of Vanevar Bush and George Bush both also from Massachusetts history. Thank you for you reply.

Carolyn Gill 3/5/06

******************
People resembling their houses

In a memoir, A Place in the Country, by Laura Shaine Cunningham, she writes that Wharton wrote that people became their houses, even looked like them. Cunningham, of course, gives no citation. Does this ring true with you and do you have any ideas as to where I might find this thought. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Judith Church Tydings
jtydings at xecu dot net

2/23/06

**************

Edith Wharton's dogs

I'm the author of a series of books for young people about Impressionist painters and their circle ("Charlotte in Giverny," "Charlotte in Paris," "Charlotte in New York") published by Chronicle Books. Now Charlotte is off to Italy where she meets Edith Wharton. Charlotte loves dogs and has a Brussels Griffon named Toby. I'd like to know more about Edith Wharton and her dogs. Did she have any breeds other than Papillons? What are some of the names she gave her dogs? Many thanks! Joan Knight

Joan M. Knight

JKMacGriff@aol.com 2-10-06

******************
Scarcity of French Ways and their Meaning

Can you inform me as to the scarcity of dust jacketed copies of the first UK edition of 'French Ways and their Meaning' London,1919?

Used book sites on the internet all seem not to have seen a dust jacketed copy of "French Ways and their Meaning". Is it really that scarce?
B Benneworth

b.benneworth@btinternet.com 2-10-06

*******************
Berkshire Evening Eagle Article on Sledding Accident (Ethan Frome)

I'm about to begin a unit on Ethan Frome and I found a reference to a March 12, 1904 article in the Berkshire Evening Eagle about a fatal coasting accident that may have served as inspiration for the accident in Ethan Frome. Would the Society have such an article, and if so, how may I attain a copy? Thank you.
P.S. The reference to the article is in The Glencoe Literature Library Study Guide for Ethan Frome.
Sincerely,
Thomas Ross
Language Arts Department
Danbury High School, Danbury, Conn.

rossth@danbury.k12.ct.us

REPLY: We don't have this available on the Wharton Society site, but it can be found in a widely used edition of Ethan Frome: Kristin O. Lauer and Cynthia Griffin Wolff's Ethan Frome (Norton Critical Edition), published by W. W. Norton in 1995, pages 86-90.

--D. Campbell

*******

REPLY: The Berkshire Evening Eagle article on the sledding accident is also included as an appendix to the Penguin Classics edition of ETHAN FROME--or at least it used to be (I haven't seen the most recent re-printing).

-- F. Wegener 2-8-06
***************

Countess Olenska: Part of the Money Plot?

I have been trying to research Countess Olenska's contribution to the triangle in "Age of Innocence", but no reviewers or discussions on the internet ever concede that she may have been part of the plot to get the money from the grandmother to return to Europe and live their "on her terms".
Can you recommend a website where I can pursue this?

jeanne haigis pedler 1/23/06

New Student Queries

2006-04-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

STUDENT QUERIES
*

Specific request for criticism

I'm writing a research paper on Edith Wharton's novels The Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome. My idea is to compare the two and how she used the basic plot of a dissatisfied man (Ethan and Archer) having a restraint on his desired (Mattie and Ellen) and how the wife (Zeena and May) interfere with the desire and how they remain "faithful" to their wives because of society/appearance. My only problem: I NEED VALUABLE AUTHORED RESEARCH! I have found research on Wharton, just nothing that could help back me up on my topic. If anyone could supply some websites (please no books) with this type of info immediately, it'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

Oh, and places you need to pay for research (like Questia) won't really help.

ANSWER: It's unlikely that you will find any of this on a web site; "valuable authored research" such as books and journals are found in libraries, and subscription databases of published criticism are not free.
Name of this Wharton story?

does anyone know the name of a short story that takes place on a cruise ship. There are two women, one of whom has a beautiful daughter. The story ends with a twist: the revelation that the daughter is the child of the other woman's husband, or something like that. THANKS.

Amyamyb1109@hotmail.com

ANSWER: This is the plot of "Roman Fever," although it takes place in Rome and not on a cruise ship.

Age of Innocence: Irony?

can you help me find the greatest irony in the age of innocence?

******

i cant come up with a good thesis statement for the irony in the age of innocence, can you help?

rooroogurl08@hotmail.com

3/21/06

Help with deciding topic for M.A. thesis

I am a master student and I wanna write a thesis on edith wharton's short stories. I read some of the stories & I found out that I cannot generalise the subject since each story deals with different subject matters. can you help me to narrow my topic about the stories? a title is necessary for me including all stories urgently. Ihave two weeks to submit my subject to the instructor. banu aldım

3/9/06

ANSWER:Since the purpose of a thesis is to demonstrate your knowledge and mastery of the subject, only you and your advisor would know the answer to this. Think about these questions:

1. Do you see particular themes, characters, settings, or motifs appearing in several stories?

2. How do these elements differ from story to story?

Age of Innocence

what was the doubled standars in the Age of Innocence?
amy
ANSWER: The idea of a "double standard" usually refers to different standards of sexual morality or purity being applied to men as opposed to the higher standards imposed on women. Can you see where these might exist in The Age of Innocence?

Manuscript of Summer

Are there any manuscripts of Summer preserved? Charity

2/25/06

ANSWER:A good place to look would be the Finding Aid at the Beinecke Library, available from the Research Resources page at this site.

According to that, the manuscript of Summer is there.

2/25/06
Movie of "Roman Fever"
Years ago I have seen a movie made after Edith Wharton's Roman Fever. I cannot manage to get hold of it. Do you have any info which coul dbe of some help ?

Many thanks for your help. JMJacqueline de Matignon

jacqueline.de.matignon@devoteam.com

ANSWER: The Filmography doesn't list one, but if anyone has more information about this, please let us know.

Age of Innocence: Europe vs. New York

I have a topic to discuss about edith wharton's "the age of innocence": europe vs new york ".could you help me?or at least give me a key?

adou danieljeanluc@yahoo.fr 2/20/06

Sanctuary

I picked the book Sanctuary by Edith Wharton, and am having trouble finding much on it for my report. Do you have any siggestions for where I can find criticisms?

Alex surfing_ham@yahoo.com 2-8-06

Summer: A Feminist Novel?

Question: Do you consider Edith Wharton's "Summer" to be a feminist book? If so why?

Jessica Roberts 2/8/06

"Souls Belated": 3rd person omniscient?

Is "Souls Belated" in the 3rd person limited or the 3rd person omniscient? Thank you.

Marsha McPherson 1-28-06

Scholars on "Xingu"

I would like to know if there are any scholars who have written on "Xingu."

N. Nozuenozue@lit.osaka-cu.ac.jp 1-23-06

Staged Reading of Age of Innocence to be performed in New York

2006-03-27T18:16:00.000-08:00

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/98681.html

Age of Innocence, 1928 Dramatization of Wharton Novel, Gets NYC Reading March 27

By Kenneth Jones
27 Mar 2006

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Mint Theater Company will continue its season dedicated to neglected plays by American women by presenting a staged reading of Margaret Ayer Barnes' 1928 and seldom-seen dramatization, The Age of Innocence, based on the novel by Edith Wharton.

The March 27 event is a benefit for the not-for-profit Mint company in Manhattan.

Barnes' dramatization played for over 200 Broadway performances in 1928 with Katharine Cornell playing Madame Olenska. Rollo Peters played Newland Archer. Cornell then toured the country in the role.

Stuart Howard will direct a cast of 11 that includes Jennifer Harmon, Darrie Lawrence, Claire Lautier, Michael Littig, Sal Mistretta, Dennis Parlato, Derek Smith, Samantha Soule, Molly Stuart, Jeff Talbott and Gregory Wooddell.
* * * * * *
Attend the reading only or plan to have dinner at Le Madeline before the show with Mint artistic director Jonathan Bank and special guest Linda Costanzo Cahir, co-editor of The Edith Wharton Review, to discuss Wharton and Barnes and to hear some fun backstage gossip from the Broadway production starring Katharine Cornell.
* * * * * *
Tickets for the reading at 7:30 PM are $25; tickets for the reading and dinner at Le Madeline (which begins at 5:30 PM) are $85 and either may be purchased by calling (212) 315-0231 or at www.minttheater.org.

Mint Theater is located on the Third Floor of 311 West 43rd Street. Performances of Soldier's Wife continue to April 2. Tickets for the remaining performances of Soldier's Wife are $45 and are available by calling (212) 315-0231 or online at www.minttheater.org.

Age of Innocence at the Mint Theater, March 27, 2006

2006-03-14T14:22:00.000-08:00

THE AGE OF INNOCENCE

by Edith Wharton

Dramatised by

Margaret Ayer Barnes

Directed by Stuart Howard

Monday March 27th

Margaret Ayer Barnes took up writing at thirty at the encouragement of playwright Edward Sheldon. In 1929 she dramatized Wharton’s novel which ran on Broadway for over 200 performances starring Katherine Cornell and Rollo Peters. Barnes won the Pulitzer Prize in 1931 for her first novel, Years of Grace.

For more information or to order tickets, visit http://www.minttheater.org/onstage/special.html or call 212-315-0231

New Queries

2006-03-14T14:18:00.000-08:00

These are recent queries from the Wharton Society site. To respond, please send an email to whartonqueries@yahoo.com or use the comment form. You can also reply using the comments feature on this blog. Thanks.

***************

Theatre Adaptations of Wharton's Works Hello - I'm looking for any recommendations for theatre adaptations of Wharton's novels. We're a new London-based company looking specifically for adaptations of female writers' work. If anyone has any recommendations, I would love to hear them, particularly if they have yet to be produced in the UK. Louise Hill

Updated 3/24/06 to include this response:

Regarding Louise Hill's inquiry about theater adaptations of Wharton novels: Mint Theater Company in New York has published the dramatization of The House of Mirth that Wharton wrote herself in 1906, along with playwright Clyde Fitch. The Mint text revises the play somewhat using material from the novel. Mint also has a copy of the Margaret Ayer Barnes' 1928 dramatization of The Age of Innocence. For more information please contact Mint Artistic Director Jonathan Bank: jbank@minttheater.org

********************

Edith Wharton--travel to San Francisco? Did Edith Wharton ever visit San Francisco?

Deborah Doyle
********************

Wharton's family--New York? Can you tell me if Edith Wharton's family originated in New York City society and if the family name is related to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. I know from my own New Jersey family that many of the old names came from one root. I am thinking of Vanevar Bush and George Bush both also from Massachusetts history. Thank you for you reply.

Carolyn Gill
******************

People resembling their houses

In a memoir, A Place in the Country, by Laura Shaine Cunningham, she writes that Wharton wrote that people became their houses, even looked like them. Cunningham, of course, gives no citation. Does this ring true with you and do you have any ideas as to where I might find this thought. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Judith Church Tydings
********************

Edith Wharton's dogs I'm the author of a series of books for young people about Impressionist painters and their circle ("Charlotte in Giverny," "Charlotte in Paris," "Charlotte in New York") published by Chronicle Books. Now Charlotte is off to Italy where she meets Edith Wharton. Charlotte loves dogs and has a Brussels Griffon named Toby. I'd like to know more about Edith Wharton and her dogs. Did she have any breeds other than Papillons? What are some of the names she gave her dogs? Many thanks! Joan Knight

Joan M. Knight

********************

Scarcity of French Ways and their Meaning

Can you inform me as to the scarcity of dust jacketed copies of the first UK edition of 'French Ways and their Meaning' London,1919?

Used book sites on the internet all seem not to have seen a dust jacketed copy of "French Ways and their Meaning". Is it really that scarce?
B Benneworth

Call for Papers for MLA 2006

2006-01-29T10:04:00.000-08:00

22 January. Call for Papers: Wharton Panels at MLA 2006. 8 January. New student queries; announcement of Merchant's House Museum dinner inspired by Wharton in Edith Wharton in the News.

3 January 2006. Results of the Edith Wharton Essay Prize; minutes from MLA 2005; results of the EWS Board election.

Wharton-l discussion list is back in operation

2005-12-29T20:24:00.000-08:00

30 December. The WHARTON-L discussion list is now back in operation at a new address. No addresses from the old list have been retained, so please sign up if you want to receive and send messages.

29 December.Information on MLA panels and business meeting, including an agenda for the meeting. Please review the proposed changes to the constitution before the meeting and vote on December 30.

15 December. Edith Wharton's library purchased by The Mount in Edith Wharton in the News.

11 December. Extended deadline for proposals: CFP Wharton panels at SSAWW.

8 December. Announcement of a new play, The Edith Whartons, in Greenville, SC on January 12 in Wharton News and Notes.

7 December. Some abstracts for the MLA panels are now available (more will be posted). Please note that the EWS business meeting will be held at the end of the second Wharton session on December 30, 12-1:15 p.m.
29 November. New Student Queries and Replies.

22 November. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will air the 1934 version of The Age of Innocence on December 6 and 20. This version is not available on VHS or DVD.

21 November. Information on MLA panels and business meeting, including an agenda for the meeting.

Production of "The Edith Whartons" in Greenville, SC, January 12

2005-12-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

In doing character research for an upcoming play, I happened upon this site. My name is Tim Brosnan and I'm playing Morton Fullerton in a production of a new play, "The Edith Whartons" that will be premiering at Centre Stage (centrestage.org) in Greenville, SC on January 12, 2006. The play focuses primarily on the Wharton-Fullerton-James triangle, but also includes significant appearances by Teddy Wharton, as well as Teddy Roosevelt. Society members in the area might enjoy spending an evening with this semi-professional production as performed in an exceptionally beautiful space. Cheers!
timbalo2000 at yahoo.com

Wharton panels and business meeting at MLA

2005-12-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

7 December. Some abstracts for the MLA panels are now available (more will be posted). Please note that the EWS business meeting will be held at the end of the second Wharton session on December 30, 12-1:15 p.m.
29 November. New Student Queries and Replies.
22 November. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will air the 1934 version of The Age of Innocence on December 6 and 20. This version is not available on VHS or DVD

News from the Wharton Society site

2005-11-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

21 November. Information
on MLA panels and business meeting.

30 October. Calls
for Papers (ALA
2006 and SSAWW 2006); New Queries (address
for Shari Benstock).

10 October. New Queries (Frederick
Rhinelander: Wharton's grandfather?) and Student
Queries.

9 October. New
Queries (Was Waythorn gay?)

29 September. New Queries (Age of Innocence film
[1934]; Charles Dana Gibson and Wharton)

Call for Papers for special issue of the Edith
Wharton Review on teaching Wharton's works.

Frederick Rhinelander

2005-10-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

10 October. New Queries (Frederick
Rhinelander: Wharton's grandfather?) and Student
Queries.

9 October. New
Queries (Was Waythorn gay?)

2005-09-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

29 September. New Queries (Age of Innocence film [1934]; Charles Dana Gibson and Wharton)

2005-09-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

26 September. New Call for Papers.

20 September. New Queries
and Replies (PBS adaptation
of Wharton's works on video?).

12 September.
Garrison Keillor on "Edith
Wharton and the War on Terror" in Edith
Wharton in the News.

1 September. From Edith
Wharton in the News:
The
Mint Theater Company will present a reading of the
Edith Wharton/Clyde Fitch adaptation of The House
of Mirth on
October 17.

21 August. Updates
to Edith
Wharton in the News (Alan
Price discussing Edith Wharton; from MSNBC.com)

Table of Contents for the most recent edition of the
Edith Wharton Review.

Call for Papers for special issue of the Edith
Wharton Review on teaching Wharton's works.

Reading of the Edith Wharton/Clyde Fitch adaptation of The House of Mirth

2005-09-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

1 September. From Edith
Wharton in the News:
The
Mint Theater Company will present a reading of the
Edith Wharton/Clyde Fitch adaptation of The House
of Mirth on
October 17.

Updates from the Edith Wharton Society Web Page

2005-08-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

21 August. Updates to Edith
Wharton in the News (Alan
Price discussing Edith Wharton; from MSNBC.com)

Table of Contents for the most recent edition of the
Edith Wharton Review.

Call for Papers for special issue of the Edith
Wharton Review on teaching Wharton's works.

13 August. The 1934 version of The Age of
Innocence will
run on the TCM (Turner
Classic Movies) channel on Thursday,
August 18, at noon Eastern Daylight Time (9 a.m. Pacific
Daylight Time). This version is not available on VHS
or DVD, and it is rarely shown on television.

5 August. Staatsburgh
(Mills) Mansion as Bellomont in The House of Mirth (in Edith
Wharton in the News).

30 July. New Student
Queries (discussion questions
for The Buccaneers?)

12 July. Results of
the nonbinding vote on constitutional changes at the
House of Mirth Conference: 28 ballots returned; 27 approved;
1 not marked.

10 July. The
Mount on CBS Sunday Morning.

Conference updates

2005-05-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

24 May. The conference schedule for the Celebrating the Centenary of Edith Wharton's House of Mirth is now available at http://www.edithwhartonsociety/conference/confsched2005.htm.

23 May. Agenda for ALA Wharton Society business meeting.

Performance: Edith Wharton-A Self Portrait (Opera)

2005-05-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

The Scripps Ranch Friends of the Library present
EDITH WHARTON
a new opera
celebrating the life of America’s pre-eminent and
Pulitzer Prize-winning woman of letters

* * *
Meet the creators
MYRON FINK composer

DON MORELAND librettist

and hear musical excerpts by
Patricia McAfee, soprano, as Edith Wharton
Chad Frisque, tenor, as her lover Morton Fullerton
Philip Larson, bass, as Henry James and Walter Berry
Deborah Davis, soprano, as Lily Bart from HOUSE OF MIRTH and
Mattie Silver from ETHAN FROME
Ava Liss, mezzo, as Zeena from ETHAN FROME
TBA, tenor, as Ethan from ETHAN FROME

* * *
Sunday, 6/12/05 4:00p Athenaeum Music and Arts Library
1008 Wall Street
La Jolla, CA 92037

(The flyer is attached FYI.)

Sunday, 6/19/05 2:30p Scripps Miramar Ranch Library
10301 Scripps Lake Drive
San Diego, CA 92131

Click here for flyer (.pdf file)

Call for Items for Edith Wharton Bibliography

2005-05-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

CALL FOR EDITH WHARTON BIBLIOGRAPHY

Did your article, book chapter, or book on Wharton appear in 2004 ?

If so, please send a copy to Carol Singley. She is preparing the 2004 bibliographic essay on Wharton for American Literary Scholarship and would like to include your work..

Send items to Carol Singley, 312 Maple Ave. , Swarthmore , PA 19081 by July 1.

Email questions to singley@camden.rutgers.edu

Announcements from the EWS site

2005-05-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

# 12 May. Site redesign. As you can see, the EWS site has been redesigned and the frames have been eliminated for easier access. Please let me know about any suggestions you have for the new design.
# Call for Nominations for the Edith Wharton Society Board. Nominations are due May 15 (extended deadline). For more information, see the About the Society page, the nominations form, and the constitution.
# 28 April. New Queries and Replies; updates to the comprehensive bibliography.
# 17 April. Draft schedule for the Celebrating the House of Mirth conference is now available.

Draft Schedule for House of Mirth Conference Available

2005-04-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

17 April. Draft schedule for the Celebrating the House of Mirth conference is now available at http://www.edithwhartonsociety.org/conference/confsched2005.htm

Call for Nominations for EWS Executive Board

2005-03-16T11:59:00.000-08:00

Members of the Edith Wharton Society are invited to nominate candidates for at-large membership to the Executive Board. Self-nominations are also permitted.

Deadline for nominations for this year: April 15, 2005.

Duties of Board Members:

1. Board members customarily serve for two years and are expected to attend Board meetings and EWS business meetings at conferences (when possible).

2. Board members are expected to participate in e-mail discussions of Board business.

3. Board members are expected to referee articles for the Edith Wharton Review.

For information on the duties of an Executive Board member, see Sections VI and VII of the Constitution of the Edith Wharton Society.

If you would like to nominate someone, please use the online form at http://www.edithwhartonsociety.org/nominationform.htmor send the equivalent information by e-mail or letter to Edith Thornton, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 800 West Main Street. Whitewater, WI 53190-1790.

Both nominator and proposed nominee must be members of the Edith Wharton Society.

Edith Wharton sessions at ALA

2005-03-14T10:53:00.000-08:00

Edith Wharton Sessions and Business Meeting at ALA, May 2005
Saturday, May 28, 2005
8:00 - 9:20 am

Session 16-G Edith Wharton and Money (Place TBA)

Organized by the Edith Wharton Society

Chair: Hildegard Hoeller, College of Staten Island — City University of New York

1. “'It Cost Him a Visible Effort to Take a Few Steps…': Wharton's Use of Money as a Signifer of Disability in Ethan Frome,” Christopher Bell, University of Illinois at Chicago .

2. “Edith Wharton and Money: The Financial Factor on the Axis of Heterosexual and Homosocial Relationships,” Stephanie Taitano, University of Texas , Arlington .

3. “The Jewish Economy of Risk in The House of Mirth,” Naomi Reed, University of Illinois , Urbana-Champaign.

Saturday, May 28, 2005 9:30-10:50 am
Session 17J: Business Meeting of the Edith Wharton Society (Place TBA)(Not yet listed on ALA program but confirmed with Alfred Bendixen)

Saturday, May 28, 2005 11:00 am - 12:20 pm (Place TBA)

Session 18-G Edith Wharton: Critical Perspectives.

Organized by the Edith Wharton Society

Chair: Carol Sapora, Villa Julie College

1. "A Critical Rivalry: The Competing Methods of Mrs. Wharton and Mrs. Woolf," Sharon Kehl Califano, University of New Hampshire .
2. "The Critics, The Canon, and Cultural Capital: Edith Wharton as a Short Story Writer," Gary Totten, North Dakota State University .
3. "'Wherever You Seize It, It's Interesting': Subject, Class, and Aesthetic Value in Edith Wharton's Critical Prose," Frederick Wegener, California State University , Long Beach .

Request: Wharton Family Members

2005-03-04T08:47:00.000-08:00

The Wharton DNA Surname Project is seeking participation of members of the Philadelphia Wharton family (includes the Edward "Teddy" Wharton family into which Edith married). This project is currently characterizing several genes of the paternally-inherited Y chromosome of several lineages using the name Wharton. The results are a valuable tool for genealogists working to assess relationships among families with the same surname. Participation is easy using simple cheek swabs that are provided and returned by mail. For more information, contact Dr. Dan Wharton, pelhamdan@aol.com, or visit the Family Tree DNA website www.familytreedna.com.

Accommodations information for the House of Mirth Conference now available

2005-01-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

14 January. Accommodations information for the House of Mirth conference is now available at http://www.edithwhartonsociety.org/conference/acc2005.htm.

CFP: Edith Wharton Sessions at MLA 2005

2005-01-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

The Edith Wharton Society will sponsor two sessions at MLA 2005:

Wharton, Science, and Technology. Papers on Wharton's interest in science or technology (astronomy, physics, airplanes, electricity, etc.) and/or its role in her work. 1-2 page abstracts by March 15; Laura Saltz (lsaltz@colby.edu).

Edith Wharton and France. Papers on Wharton and France, including Wharton's works set in France, World War I, translations, and French influences and relationships. 1-2 page abstracts by March 15; Donna Campbell (campbelld@wsu.edu).

Reply to Post: Ms Wharton's grave is a desolation

2004-12-21T11:59:00.000-08:00

To Sophie Latraverse: Can you estimate cost to restore Edith Wharton grave site? Also do you know how close Walter Berry grave is to her and in what condition?
Jean Taylor

http://whartonnews.blogspot.com/2004/10/ms-whartons-grave-is-desolation.html

Was Annabel Balch pregnant?

2004-11-11T10:31:00.000-08:00

Hi,

It's been a while since I reviewed scholarship on Summer, so this may be already a commonly understood interpretation of the novel--and if so, please feel free to disregard this. But I've just come from a fascinating class discussion of the
novel where several students had the clear impression that Annabel Balch is also pregnant--they cited her weakness, inability to dance, her need to have her clothes refitted, and suggested that the fact that Charity is literally in her shoes is also a metaphor for their shared pregnancy. This insight stunned and intrigued me. Has anyone commented on this that you may know of?

Thanks,
Kathy Pfeiffer

Kathleen Pfeiffer, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Oakland University
Rochester, MI 48309

Ms Wharton's grave is a desolation

2004-10-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

I have been to Versailles communal cemetery this week-end to visit Edith Wharton's grave. It is unkempt, her name is unlegible and obliterated and if it was not for a very diligent cemetery guardian, we would never have found it.

I must say that we were shocked.

I live in Paris, and would be very happy to assist any organisation who would take the necessary measures to insure her tomb is renovated and properly kept.

If you know of the estate or other organisation who should be contacted in this regard, please inform me.

Best regards,
Sophie Latraverse

Wharton News and Notes

2004-09-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

The wharton-l list is temporarily off-line due to technical problems. Until it is restored by our system administrator or another solution can be found, this space will serve as a site to communicate messages and so forth.

Send your e-mail to me (campbedm@msn.com) and I'll post it here, or, if you'd rather post directly, send me your e-mail address and I can make you a member of this blog.

Queries will continue to be posted to the Queries and Student Queries pages.