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Mr. Jones
Edith Wharton (1862-1937), born Edith Newbold Jones, was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer. She combined her insider's view of America's privileged classes with a brilliant, natural wit to write humourous and incisive novels and short stories. Wharton was well-acquainted with many of her era's literary and public figures, including Henry James and Theodore Roosevelt. Besides her writing, she was a highly regarded landscape architect, interior designer, and taste-maker of her time. She wrote several influential books, including The Decoration of Houses (1897), her first published work, and Italian Villas and Their Gardens (1904). The Age of Innocence (1920), perhaps her best known work, won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for literature, making her the first woman to win the award. Her other works include: The Greater Inclination (1899), The Touchstone (1900), Sanctuary (1903), The Descent of Man and Other Stories (1904), The House of Mirth (1905), Madame de Treymes (1907), The Fruit of the Tree (1907), The Hermit and the Wild Woman and Other Stories (1908), Ethan Frome (1912), In Morocco (1921), and The Glimpses of the Moon (1921).
52 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1928
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About the author
Edith Wharton
1,439 books5,259 followersEdith Wharton emerged as one of America’s most insightful novelists, deftly exposing the tensions between societal expectation and personal desire through her vivid portrayals of upper-class life. Drawing from her deep familiarity with New York’s privileged “aristocracy,” she offered readers a keenly observed and piercingly honest vision of Gilded Age society.
Her work reached a milestone when she became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, awarded for The Age of Innocence. This novel highlights the constraining rituals of 1870s New York society and remains a defining portrait of elegance laced with regret.
Wharton’s literary achievements span a wide canvas. The House of Mirth presents a tragic, vividly drawn character study of Lily Bart, navigating social expectations and the perils of genteel poverty in 1890s New York. In Ethan Frome, she explores rural hardship and emotional repression, contrasting sharply with her urban social dramas.
Her novella collection Old New York revisits the moral terrain of upper-class society, spanning decades and combining character studies with social commentary. Through these stories, she inevitably points back to themes and settings familiar from The Age of Innocence. Continuing her exploration of class and desire, The Glimpses of the Moon addresses marriage and social mobility in early 20th-century America. And in Summer, Wharton challenges societal norms with its rural setting and themes of sexual awakening and social inequality.
Beyond fiction, Wharton contributed compelling nonfiction and travel writing. The Decoration of Houses reflects her eye for design and architecture; Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort presents a compelling account of her wartime observations. As editor of The Book of the Homeless, she curated a moving, international collaboration in support of war refugees.
Wharton’s influence extended beyond writing. She designed her own country estate, The Mount, a testament to her architectural sensibility and aesthetic vision. The Mount now stands as an educational museum celebrating her legacy.
Throughout her career, Wharton maintained friendships and artistic exchanges with luminaries such as Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Theodore Roosevelt—reflecting her status as a respected and connected cultural figure.
Her literary legacy also includes multiple Nobel Prize nominations, underscoring her international recognition. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.
In sum, Edith Wharton remains celebrated for her unflinching, elegant prose, her psychological acuity, and her capacity to illuminate the unspoken constraints of society—from the glittering ballrooms of New York to quieter, more remote settings. Her wide-ranging work—novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, travel writing, essays—offers cultural insight, enduring emotional depth, and a piercing critique of the customs she both inhabited and dissected.
Her work reached a milestone when she became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, awarded for The Age of Innocence. This novel highlights the constraining rituals of 1870s New York society and remains a defining portrait of elegance laced with regret.
Wharton’s literary achievements span a wide canvas. The House of Mirth presents a tragic, vividly drawn character study of Lily Bart, navigating social expectations and the perils of genteel poverty in 1890s New York. In Ethan Frome, she explores rural hardship and emotional repression, contrasting sharply with her urban social dramas.
Her novella collection Old New York revisits the moral terrain of upper-class society, spanning decades and combining character studies with social commentary. Through these stories, she inevitably points back to themes and settings familiar from The Age of Innocence. Continuing her exploration of class and desire, The Glimpses of the Moon addresses marriage and social mobility in early 20th-century America. And in Summer, Wharton challenges societal norms with its rural setting and themes of sexual awakening and social inequality.
Beyond fiction, Wharton contributed compelling nonfiction and travel writing. The Decoration of Houses reflects her eye for design and architecture; Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort presents a compelling account of her wartime observations. As editor of The Book of the Homeless, she curated a moving, international collaboration in support of war refugees.
Wharton’s influence extended beyond writing. She designed her own country estate, The Mount, a testament to her architectural sensibility and aesthetic vision. The Mount now stands as an educational museum celebrating her legacy.
Throughout her career, Wharton maintained friendships and artistic exchanges with luminaries such as Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Theodore Roosevelt—reflecting her status as a respected and connected cultural figure.
Her literary legacy also includes multiple Nobel Prize nominations, underscoring her international recognition. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.
In sum, Edith Wharton remains celebrated for her unflinching, elegant prose, her psychological acuity, and her capacity to illuminate the unspoken constraints of society—from the glittering ballrooms of New York to quieter, more remote settings. Her wide-ranging work—novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, travel writing, essays—offers cultural insight, enduring emotional depth, and a piercing critique of the customs she both inhabited and dissected.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
December 28, 2023
3.5
The story started off slowly; by the middle, the reader knows the twist; and the ending is rather abrupt. Yet, I still found it satisfying. And I’m glad I looked up “Glamis experiment” when one of the characters mentions it: The knowledge added a layer to the tale.
The story started off slowly; by the middle, the reader knows the twist; and the ending is rather abrupt. Yet, I still found it satisfying. And I’m glad I looked up “Glamis experiment” when one of the characters mentions it: The knowledge added a layer to the tale.
January 26, 2023
“Till this her thirty-fifth year, Lady Jane had led an active, independent and decided life. One of several daughters, moderately but sufficiently provided for, she had gone early from home, lived in London lodgings, travelled in tropic lands, spent studious summers in Spain and Italy, and written two or three brisk business-like little books about cities usually dealt with sentimentally.“
This has been the life of Lady Jane, our protagonist of the short story, until she, at the stroke of luck( or maybe more appropriately, misfortune?), inherits Bells, a beauty of mansion with a history of six hundred years.
(I ACTUALLY annotated :” I want that life!!!”, yes, three exclamation marks! An old mansion seems to be too much work for someone like me, however beautiful it is. But the rest? Hell yes!)
She goes to visit the Bells before formally moving in, thinking “It would be dreadful to be used to it — to be thinking already about the state of the roof, or the cost of a heating system.”.
Here, the readers will be treated with some of the most gorgeous and atmospheric descriptions of the surroundings of the mansion and the land it lays, we will also acquaint ourselves with a brief history of the place.
However, Lady Jane’s attempt to get inside of the house turns out unsuccessful, hindered by the order of the titular “ Mr.Jones”, the housekeeper. In the meantime, despite her being completely taken by the beauty of the house, a sense of fear and uneasiness also creeps in.
Mr. Jones never shows up himself, the order “ no one is allowed to visit the house”, is carried out by a young woman working in the house.
Later when discussing this incident with friends at a party, Lady Jane is surprised to find out that her old novelist pal Stramer also attempted to visit the Bell some thirty years ago, and his attempt was also thwarted by the exact same words by a Mr. Jones.
Isn’t that so CREEPY?
Here onward, this story picks up the pace with Lady Jane moving in and also inviting her friend Stramer to stay and they finally, through a tragedy, unearth the secret behind the mysterious Mr.Jones.
This is the first time I have read anything by Edith Wharton, and it is GREAT!
I thoroughly enjoyed each and every page of this short story, it was such an engrossing read.
Some say the ending is a bit abrupt. I somewhat agree, however, on the whole the writing is still superb!
4.5 rounding up to 5!
Quotes:
“Across the damp flags of the chancel, monuments and brasses showed through a traceried screen. She examined them curiously. Some hailed her with vocal memories, others whispered out of the remote and the unknown: it was a shame to know so little about her own family.”
“Peregrine Vincent Theobald Lynke, Baron Clouds, fifteenth Viscount Thudeney of Bells, Lord of the Manors of Thudeney, Thudeney-Blazes, Upper Lynke, Lynke-Linnet —” so it ran, with the usual tedious enumeration of honors, titles, court and county offices, ending with; “Born on May 1st, 1790, perished of the plague at Aleppo in 1828.” And underneath, in small cramped characters, as if crowded as an afterthought into an insufficient space: “Also His Wife.”
“That was all. No name, dates, honors, epithets, for the Viscountess Thudeney. Did she too die of the plague at Aleppo? Or did the “also” imply her actual presence in the sarcophagus which her husband’s pride had no doubt prepared for his own last sleep, little guessing that some Syrian drain was to receive him?”
This has been the life of Lady Jane, our protagonist of the short story, until she, at the stroke of luck( or maybe more appropriately, misfortune?), inherits Bells, a beauty of mansion with a history of six hundred years.
(I ACTUALLY annotated :” I want that life!!!”, yes, three exclamation marks! An old mansion seems to be too much work for someone like me, however beautiful it is. But the rest? Hell yes!)
She goes to visit the Bells before formally moving in, thinking “It would be dreadful to be used to it — to be thinking already about the state of the roof, or the cost of a heating system.”.
Here, the readers will be treated with some of the most gorgeous and atmospheric descriptions of the surroundings of the mansion and the land it lays, we will also acquaint ourselves with a brief history of the place.
However, Lady Jane’s attempt to get inside of the house turns out unsuccessful, hindered by the order of the titular “ Mr.Jones”, the housekeeper. In the meantime, despite her being completely taken by the beauty of the house, a sense of fear and uneasiness also creeps in.
Mr. Jones never shows up himself, the order “ no one is allowed to visit the house”, is carried out by a young woman working in the house.
Later when discussing this incident with friends at a party, Lady Jane is surprised to find out that her old novelist pal Stramer also attempted to visit the Bell some thirty years ago, and his attempt was also thwarted by the exact same words by a Mr. Jones.
Isn’t that so CREEPY?
Here onward, this story picks up the pace with Lady Jane moving in and also inviting her friend Stramer to stay and they finally, through a tragedy, unearth the secret behind the mysterious Mr.Jones.
This is the first time I have read anything by Edith Wharton, and it is GREAT!
I thoroughly enjoyed each and every page of this short story, it was such an engrossing read.
Some say the ending is a bit abrupt. I somewhat agree, however, on the whole the writing is still superb!
4.5 rounding up to 5!
Quotes:
“Across the damp flags of the chancel, monuments and brasses showed through a traceried screen. She examined them curiously. Some hailed her with vocal memories, others whispered out of the remote and the unknown: it was a shame to know so little about her own family.”
“Peregrine Vincent Theobald Lynke, Baron Clouds, fifteenth Viscount Thudeney of Bells, Lord of the Manors of Thudeney, Thudeney-Blazes, Upper Lynke, Lynke-Linnet —” so it ran, with the usual tedious enumeration of honors, titles, court and county offices, ending with; “Born on May 1st, 1790, perished of the plague at Aleppo in 1828.” And underneath, in small cramped characters, as if crowded as an afterthought into an insufficient space: “Also His Wife.”
“That was all. No name, dates, honors, epithets, for the Viscountess Thudeney. Did she too die of the plague at Aleppo? Or did the “also” imply her actual presence in the sarcophagus which her husband’s pride had no doubt prepared for his own last sleep, little guessing that some Syrian drain was to receive him?”
December 23, 2021
Inheriting a house with a ghostly caretaker who is spoken of but never seen. It’s a good eerie read, but it just ends - it felt like it needed a bit of a conclusion!
December 23, 2022
In "Mr. Jones", Lady Jane Lynke unexpectedly, but happily, finds that she has inherited an English country manor house, Bells. She finds the estate charming. Enthralled with both the house and the grounds, she sets about making it her home, declaring that she loves it all so much, she doubts she'll ever leave.
In fact, the only unpleasant thing at all about Lady Jane's new situation is the cantankerous, obstinate caretaker, Mr. Jones. Others on the estate tell her that he dislikes her changes and would rather things be left as they are.
And -- so strange -- she herself has never seen or spoken with Mr. Jones.
I love this story. I've seen reviews that the ending feels too abrupt, but I didn't feel that way at all.
In fact, the only unpleasant thing at all about Lady Jane's new situation is the cantankerous, obstinate caretaker, Mr. Jones. Others on the estate tell her that he dislikes her changes and would rather things be left as they are.
And -- so strange -- she herself has never seen or spoken with Mr. Jones.
I love this story. I've seen reviews that the ending feels too abrupt, but I didn't feel that way at all.
December 11, 2023
Manderley has Mrs Danvers and Bells has Mr Jones!
A tale about one of those people who rule a household with a stern tongue and a rod of iron. But something isn't right at Bells, and Lady Jane is determined to find out more about this mysterious servant.
A tale about one of those people who rule a household with a stern tongue and a rod of iron. But something isn't right at Bells, and Lady Jane is determined to find out more about this mysterious servant.
July 2, 2025
Een leuk kort verhaal. Vermakelijk, maar niet echt eng of origineel.
July 22, 2024
And so another of the Christmas Ghost stories - this time one with a different twist in that the ghost is not as prominent as some stories - rather (and ironically) appearing from the shadows.
The great thing about this series is that yes it focuses on the ghost aspect (the series title does sort of give it away) however within this this genre there are so many styles and types that really there are so many to choose from it is almost too easy to become predictable or repetitive. However (so far at least) the series has been able to avoid this.
I will admit that the ending could have been a little stronger for me - however the message is delivered in all its chilling finality and I have to say that this certainly could be delivered with such impact as a tale told around the firelight
The great thing about this series is that yes it focuses on the ghost aspect (the series title does sort of give it away) however within this this genre there are so many styles and types that really there are so many to choose from it is almost too easy to become predictable or repetitive. However (so far at least) the series has been able to avoid this.
I will admit that the ending could have been a little stronger for me - however the message is delivered in all its chilling finality and I have to say that this certainly could be delivered with such impact as a tale told around the firelight
July 31, 2024
The edition I read was the biblioasis, which had a gorgeously textured cover and terrific stylized illustrations, AND which urges the reader to resume the tradition of reading ghost stories at Christmas. The story itself provided a few real chills in the middle, but the ending was a bit anti-climatic to this modern reader.
December 25, 2022
This is the third in a series of Christmas ghost stories I've read this month and it was my favorite. I think ghost stories are my favorite genre of Christmas stories. I don't like romance novels very much - the majority of Christmas fare. I like some cozy mysteries but they're not my favorite. But ghost stories along with nonfiction books about the season are at the top of my list.
May 23, 2020
3.5 stars
December 14, 2023
I love you, Edith
November 1, 2023
This one started off so great but ended too abruptly! Lady Jane has inherited, through distant relations, an old estate named Bells. When she goes to visit it, the maid refuses to let her in saying that Mr. Jones won’t allow it. Once she finally moves in, the housekeeper won’t let her hire any outside help, access some of the rooms or have tradesmen come in to fix the chimney or open locked doors with lost keys saying that Mr. Jones won’t allow it. Lady Jane soon tires of this and says that she’ll break down the door if she has to and lo and behold the key appears. Inside the locked room, she finds the old files of previous owners, but the years of 1800-1830, when the last owners who actually inhabited the building were alive, are missing. The lord died of the plague but little is know of his wife. Lady Jane finds the missing papers in Mr. Jones’ old desk and learns that the woman was kept trapped in the house by her husband and Mr. Jones. When the housekeeper finds out what she has done, she runs off to her room where she is found later, dead from strangulation. The maid said that Mr. Jones did it as punishment for Lady Jane taking the papers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2019
This book is only just 49 pages so really more of a novella.
A woman in her mid- thirties inherits a house from a distant relative and at first decides to take a drive down to the country to inspect her newly acquired property. On arrival she speaks to one of the staff about looking around the house who simply tells her " Mr Jones says that no one is allowed to visit the house"
Later, after having friends tease her for being sent away from her own property by staff, and finding out that a friend of hers had the same experience 30 years earlier, she decides to stay in the house but the staff are secretive about Mr Jones and simply say he is very unwell and cannot be seen.
There are many parts of the house that the woman would like to use but she is given excuses by the staff why she is not able to use certain rooms.
This book took me about 30 mins to read so anyone who reads on a regular basis will get through this quite quickly.
I felt it could have continued or explained more about the marriage mentioned, about Mr Jones himself, and why he had such a hold over the place considering his circumstances. Maybe I was missing something? Started well but just kind of drifted to a stop. Still worth a read and obviously an early taste of what was to come from Edith Wharton.
A woman in her mid- thirties inherits a house from a distant relative and at first decides to take a drive down to the country to inspect her newly acquired property. On arrival she speaks to one of the staff about looking around the house who simply tells her " Mr Jones says that no one is allowed to visit the house"
Later, after having friends tease her for being sent away from her own property by staff, and finding out that a friend of hers had the same experience 30 years earlier, she decides to stay in the house but the staff are secretive about Mr Jones and simply say he is very unwell and cannot be seen.
There are many parts of the house that the woman would like to use but she is given excuses by the staff why she is not able to use certain rooms.
This book took me about 30 mins to read so anyone who reads on a regular basis will get through this quite quickly.
I felt it could have continued or explained more about the marriage mentioned, about Mr Jones himself, and why he had such a hold over the place considering his circumstances. Maybe I was missing something? Started well but just kind of drifted to a stop. Still worth a read and obviously an early taste of what was to come from Edith Wharton.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2023
Another excellent tale from Edith Wharton. My only criticism would be I wish she had done more with the "and also his wife" plotline. Everything builds beautifully, but then that thread abruptly severs toward the end.
December 28, 2022
A solid 3 stars. This little Christmas ghost story book was gifted to me by my book fairy (she’s a sweet friend who has donated hundreds of books that she’s read this year). It’’s one of twenty of its kind designed and decorated by Seth— clean, simple, black and white illustrations that adds rich detail to the text. I enjoyed this short and somewhat silly story and the sophisticated writing of the author’s time, too. Lady Jane inherits the Bells Estate in which Mr. Jones is apparently the head caretaker. What’s odd is that he’s spoken about by the other caretakers as if he exists and has a set of house rules that must be followed or else, but he is never seen by anyone. That doesn’t really spook Lady Jane out entirely and I like her for that - she stays curious and invites her friend Stramer over to see what he thinks, and together they go on a house adventure to try and solve the mystery of this spoken but never seen man… weird things happen or do they? Nothing is as it seems… it’s as of the house (or Mr. Jones) is trying to run the “intruders” out. He is either a ghost, exists somehow, or is a figment of the imagination? I think the author intends to keep us wondering.
December 6, 2024
One of Seth's illustrated "pocket" (which is to say, a small book you can fit in your back pocket, should you have one) Christmas ghost stories that may number, what, 25 now? I'm kinda collecting them, and have several, some to read this season. The Christmas ghost story tradition is in decline, but it's no fault of Seth, the king of nostalgia, trying to resuscitate the storytelling tradition and the names of authors largely forgotten by all but the elderly decades ago.
"Mr. Jones" is written by Edith Wharton, of Ethan Frome, Age of Innocence, and House of Mirth fame, so she is not in the "forgotten" category, and this is one of the better ones in Seth's series. Wharton published a collection of ghost stories I still need to read. Lady Lynke has inherited a manor, Bells, but when she goees to visit it, she is told by servants that Mr. Jones will not allow her to enter the main house. She presses on, gets into the house eventually, with the support of her novelist friend Stramer, to discover some of the lost history of the--need I mention gothic?--house. So much is not known, so mysterious, with lovely ambiguous language and characters, but especially Mr. Jones.
"Mr. Jones" is written by Edith Wharton, of Ethan Frome, Age of Innocence, and House of Mirth fame, so she is not in the "forgotten" category, and this is one of the better ones in Seth's series. Wharton published a collection of ghost stories I still need to read. Lady Lynke has inherited a manor, Bells, but when she goees to visit it, she is told by servants that Mr. Jones will not allow her to enter the main house. She presses on, gets into the house eventually, with the support of her novelist friend Stramer, to discover some of the lost history of the--need I mention gothic?--house. So much is not known, so mysterious, with lovely ambiguous language and characters, but especially Mr. Jones.
February 9, 2025
El espíritu de un viejo cascarrabias que deambula por la casa, siempre cuidando de sus espacios y sus pertenencias; sembrando el terror en los trabajadores de la residencia, los visitantes y su nueva inquilina Jane.
Jane se dispone a vivir en el lugar y convertirlo con el paso de los años en su verdadero hogar, pero al llegar se da cuenta de que las pocas trabajadores que están ahí siguen las órdenes del señor Jones, un hombre al que nunca ha conocido ni si quiera percibido dentro de la casa, un hombre misteriosos que siempre "está enfermo" según la sirvienta; en este punto puedes notar cómo el nerviosismo está presente siempre que contesta algo relacionado al señor Jones, así que la semilla de la duda crece en Jane.
Es interesante y un poco perturbador cuando Jane cree encontrarse con el señor Jones en más de una ocasión, incluso momentos antes de que tomara el atrevimiento de mover las cosas del mencionado para que al final, este en signo de enojo y venganza mate a una de sus criadas.
Jane se dispone a vivir en el lugar y convertirlo con el paso de los años en su verdadero hogar, pero al llegar se da cuenta de que las pocas trabajadores que están ahí siguen las órdenes del señor Jones, un hombre al que nunca ha conocido ni si quiera percibido dentro de la casa, un hombre misteriosos que siempre "está enfermo" según la sirvienta; en este punto puedes notar cómo el nerviosismo está presente siempre que contesta algo relacionado al señor Jones, así que la semilla de la duda crece en Jane.
Es interesante y un poco perturbador cuando Jane cree encontrarse con el señor Jones en más de una ocasión, incluso momentos antes de que tomara el atrevimiento de mover las cosas del mencionado para que al final, este en signo de enojo y venganza mate a una de sus criadas.
February 19, 2023
After Lady Jane inherits a beautiful country estate known as Bells, the housekeeper refuses to let her into the home under strict orders from the enigmatic caretaker known only as Mr. Jones. At dinner later that evening, Lady Jane recounts her experience and is surprised to learn that her close friend Stramer attempted to visit Bells thirty years before and was turned away. At the time, the housekeeper also mentioned a Mr. Jones. Could it be the same man and if so, why has no one seen him?
Once Jane moves into the estate and begins making changes, the housekeeper notifies her of Mr. Jones’s disapproval. Although the man never makes an appearance, Jane often feels an odd presence in the house. She enlists Stramer’s help in unraveling the mystery. The result is anticlimactic, but Wharton’s prose is atmospheric and lush in detail.
Once Jane moves into the estate and begins making changes, the housekeeper notifies her of Mr. Jones’s disapproval. Although the man never makes an appearance, Jane often feels an odd presence in the house. She enlists Stramer’s help in unraveling the mystery. The result is anticlimactic, but Wharton’s prose is atmospheric and lush in detail.
August 30, 2024
I will confess an unpopular opinion and state that I don't like Edith Wharton's writing. I've never been able to connect with her work. That being said, this is a nice addition to the "A Ghost Story for Christmas" collection by Biblioasis. The story is intriguing: an old house, servants with secrets, locked rooms, and a caretaker who is never seen but, yet has command of the house makes a good story. The ending however seemed like a cop out. It just ends up leaving you feeling unsatisfied. Wharton does a great job of building tension but never releases it. I liked the atmosphere Wharton created, and I did like the characters. Even though I really wanted to love this story it left me feeling lukewarm at best.
December 16, 2023
I picked this up because on the blurb, it said it was a "ghost story for Christmas", and who doesn't like a festive ghost story? I wish I never had. It is so obviously written by an American writing in a manner that they think is typical of a British author. I was not invested in the characters, I didn't enjoy our protagonist, Lady Jane, and I cared even less about finding out about the titular Mr Jones. To be honest, I had figured out his whole "thing" after the first mention of him. Now, fast forward to the ending, which isn't really an ending: just someone standing up then collapsing. What a load of tosh.
September 29, 2024
Ooh, so far this has been my favourite of Seth's ghost stories for Christmas collection. The presence of Mr Jones is felt in the manor of Bells even if the new owner Lady Jane Lynke has never had the chance to actually see him. I really enjoyed the ending which . Super cool way to tell a ghost story.
I just realized Edith Wharton is also the author of Ethan Frome which was also a very haunting story - although without the supernatural elements.
I just realized Edith Wharton is also the author of Ethan Frome which was also a very haunting story - although without the supernatural elements.
March 29, 2025
[Penguin Books] (2023). SB. 77 Pages. Purchased from Amazon.co.uk.
Not Wharton’s brilliant best, by any means.
Trope ridden and utterly predictable with occasional fumbles:
“…a fitful streak, floated on an immaterial sky which was perhaps, after all, only a sky”.
The drab, naive drawings by “Seth” (Gregory Gallant (1962-)) bring nothing worthwhile to this book. Additional contextual information, for instance a more detailed biographical sketch of the author*, would have been a welcome substitute. (*A mere five lines… but ten for the illustrator…)
Not Wharton’s brilliant best, by any means.
Trope ridden and utterly predictable with occasional fumbles:
“…a fitful streak, floated on an immaterial sky which was perhaps, after all, only a sky”.
The drab, naive drawings by “Seth” (Gregory Gallant (1962-)) bring nothing worthwhile to this book. Additional contextual information, for instance a more detailed biographical sketch of the author*, would have been a welcome substitute. (*A mere five lines… but ten for the illustrator…)
June 6, 2022
Four and a half stars: Another winner in the Biblioasis Ghost Story for Christmas series (only the boring drawings by Seth detract from it.) Well written story and even though you pretty much know the expected twist, it delivers a pleasant reading experience. The small book contains 89 pages, but the text only covers 71 of them -- the drawings taking up some space as well as the publisher's information at the beginning.
December 3, 2021
Wharton does know how to tell 'em -- her "Afterward", also available in this Biblioasis series illustrated by Seth, is perhaps the best haunted English country house tale I've ever read. "Mr. Jones" is a satisfying ghost story wrapped up in a neat little package. Other reviewers have moaned about how precipitous the ending is. I disagree; Wharton tells us everything we need to know without the extra fluff of so many other gothic writers. I loved it.
December 31, 2022
Excellent gothic tale. One of the more enjoyable ghost stories by Wharton. I listened to this one rather than read the text. My enjoyment enhanced greatly by
the voice of Tony Walker. He added a lovely spooky British tone to the story. Some have a problem with the ending but I thought it was appropriate.
the voice of Tony Walker. He added a lovely spooky British tone to the story. Some have a problem with the ending but I thought it was appropriate.
August 23, 2024
I'm a big Edith Wharton fan, and really liked this little ghost story. It contained all the gothic features that most probably scared readers back in the day, and twists weren't hard to pick, but the language was delightful and it was a great afternoon read.
November 29, 2025
Thought I would begin my Thanksgiving Day with one of Seth's Ghost Stories for Christmas. This one is written by Edith Wharton, so the writing is on point. It is creepy with a sense of horror at the ending. I have always been intrigued by the Glamis experiment and this one leans on that legend so that makes it extra interesting!
October 27, 2021
Reminds me of an old Monty Python skit: “When suddenly. . . nothing happened.”
November 29, 2021
Classic creepy crumbling estate
December 28, 2021
kinda confused tbh.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews