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Altres temps
«El meu amor per l’ordre em fa odiar la manera com les coses íntimes sobreviuen el seu temps», li escrivia Edith Wharton a un amant de fulletó parisenc. No estava parlant de la seva literatura, però ho podria haver fet. Wharton és una de les millors narradores de les dualitats, els jocs d’ocultació i les petites mesquineses que es destil·len en els caràcters, i va descriure com pocs autors la transformació radical de la ciutat de Nova York a principis del segle xx. Una contista d’altres temps. Fer una selecció entre la seva fenomenal obra breu no era fàcil, però aquí la tenim.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2025
3 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Edith Wharton
1,458 books5,279 followersEdith Wharton emerged as one of America’s most insightful novelists, deftly exposing the tensions between societal expectation and personal desire through her vivid portrayals of upper-class life. Drawing from her deep familiarity with New York’s privileged “aristocracy,” she offered readers a keenly observed and piercingly honest vision of Gilded Age society.
Her work reached a milestone when she became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, awarded for The Age of Innocence. This novel highlights the constraining rituals of 1870s New York society and remains a defining portrait of elegance laced with regret.
Wharton’s literary achievements span a wide canvas. The House of Mirth presents a tragic, vividly drawn character study of Lily Bart, navigating social expectations and the perils of genteel poverty in 1890s New York. In Ethan Frome, she explores rural hardship and emotional repression, contrasting sharply with her urban social dramas.
Her novella collection Old New York revisits the moral terrain of upper-class society, spanning decades and combining character studies with social commentary. Through these stories, she inevitably points back to themes and settings familiar from The Age of Innocence. Continuing her exploration of class and desire, The Glimpses of the Moon addresses marriage and social mobility in early 20th-century America. And in Summer, Wharton challenges societal norms with its rural setting and themes of sexual awakening and social inequality.
Beyond fiction, Wharton contributed compelling nonfiction and travel writing. The Decoration of Houses reflects her eye for design and architecture; Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort presents a compelling account of her wartime observations. As editor of The Book of the Homeless, she curated a moving, international collaboration in support of war refugees.
Wharton’s influence extended beyond writing. She designed her own country estate, The Mount, a testament to her architectural sensibility and aesthetic vision. The Mount now stands as an educational museum celebrating her legacy.
Throughout her career, Wharton maintained friendships and artistic exchanges with luminaries such as Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Theodore Roosevelt—reflecting her status as a respected and connected cultural figure.
Her literary legacy also includes multiple Nobel Prize nominations, underscoring her international recognition. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.
In sum, Edith Wharton remains celebrated for her unflinching, elegant prose, her psychological acuity, and her capacity to illuminate the unspoken constraints of society—from the glittering ballrooms of New York to quieter, more remote settings. Her wide-ranging work—novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, travel writing, essays—offers cultural insight, enduring emotional depth, and a piercing critique of the customs she both inhabited and dissected.
Her work reached a milestone when she became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, awarded for The Age of Innocence. This novel highlights the constraining rituals of 1870s New York society and remains a defining portrait of elegance laced with regret.
Wharton’s literary achievements span a wide canvas. The House of Mirth presents a tragic, vividly drawn character study of Lily Bart, navigating social expectations and the perils of genteel poverty in 1890s New York. In Ethan Frome, she explores rural hardship and emotional repression, contrasting sharply with her urban social dramas.
Her novella collection Old New York revisits the moral terrain of upper-class society, spanning decades and combining character studies with social commentary. Through these stories, she inevitably points back to themes and settings familiar from The Age of Innocence. Continuing her exploration of class and desire, The Glimpses of the Moon addresses marriage and social mobility in early 20th-century America. And in Summer, Wharton challenges societal norms with its rural setting and themes of sexual awakening and social inequality.
Beyond fiction, Wharton contributed compelling nonfiction and travel writing. The Decoration of Houses reflects her eye for design and architecture; Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort presents a compelling account of her wartime observations. As editor of The Book of the Homeless, she curated a moving, international collaboration in support of war refugees.
Wharton’s influence extended beyond writing. She designed her own country estate, The Mount, a testament to her architectural sensibility and aesthetic vision. The Mount now stands as an educational museum celebrating her legacy.
Throughout her career, Wharton maintained friendships and artistic exchanges with luminaries such as Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Theodore Roosevelt—reflecting her status as a respected and connected cultural figure.
Her literary legacy also includes multiple Nobel Prize nominations, underscoring her international recognition. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.
In sum, Edith Wharton remains celebrated for her unflinching, elegant prose, her psychological acuity, and her capacity to illuminate the unspoken constraints of society—from the glittering ballrooms of New York to quieter, more remote settings. Her wide-ranging work—novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, travel writing, essays—offers cultural insight, enduring emotional depth, and a piercing critique of the customs she both inhabited and dissected.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 14, 2025
Aquest llibre és un entretinement deliciós. Marina Porras ha seleccionat un relats breus i ha confegit un llibre que il·lustra el mon de l'Edith Wharton. Senyora rica, conservadora, de Nova York i que viu a caball entre el s. XIX i el s. XX. Com que és una escriptora excel·lent ha deixat pàgines memorables on descriu la casta dels seus de manera lúcida i a vegades descarnada, però sempre en un to lleuger i ple d'ironia.
"L'ambient moral de les entranyes de la família Tillotson estava tan curosament ocult i encortinat com la mateixa casa: a la mare Tillotson li feien tanta por les idees com un corrent d'aire a l'esquena. La gent prudent preferia una temperatura regular, i fer coses inesperades era tan desenraonat com sortir al carrer quan plovia" (pàg. 176).
"L'ambient moral de les entranyes de la família Tillotson estava tan curosament ocult i encortinat com la mateixa casa: a la mare Tillotson li feien tanta por les idees com un corrent d'aire a l'esquena. La gent prudent preferia una temperatura regular, i fer coses inesperades era tan desenraonat com sortir al carrer quan plovia" (pàg. 176).
March 29, 2025
Edith Wharton es de las pocas autoras que siempre, siempre, tienen esa capacidad para dar en sus finales el golpe de gracia perfecto. 5 relatos de una calidad excelente (mis favoritos, el primero y el último), con un maravilloso prólogo de Marina Porras, que nunca falla. Se lo compro todo a las dos.
July 3, 2025
Excepte el primer conte que és curiòs (en un bon sentit), la resta els he trobat, malgrat l’evidència i l’any que els va escriure l’autora…com envellits, d’una altra època que ja ha caducat.Massa abstractes a estones.
January 7, 2026
L'any lector 2025 el vaig començar amb un petit plaer de la Wharton i m'ha semblat bona idea fer el mateix aquest 2026.
Magnífic pròleg de la Marina Porras que ha seleccionat aquests contes tan gilded age, amb girs al final, algun a la darrera línia!
Magnífic pròleg de la Marina Porras que ha seleccionat aquests contes tan gilded age, amb girs al final, algun a la darrera línia!
June 25, 2025
(3,75 !!!) la llavor de la magrana ha sigut la meva preferida !!! I m'ha encantat la introducció a l'Edith de la Marina
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews