Recent queries at the Wharton Society Site

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

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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

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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
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"The Valley of Childish Things"

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

Regards,

Allyson Bird.
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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

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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

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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

Recent Queries

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

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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

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

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

New Queries

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

New Queries (Jan-April 2006)

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
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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

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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

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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
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Edith Wharton--travel to San Francisco?

Did Edith Wharton ever visit San Francisco?

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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
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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

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

New Queries

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.

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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

Frederick Rhinelander

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)

Was Annabel Balch pregnant?

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