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Edith Wharton: Collected Stories 1911–1937
A master of the American short story, in a two-volume collector's edition
Over the course of a long and astonishingly productive literary career that stretched from the early 1890s to just before World War II, Edith Wharton published nearly a dozen story collections, leaving a body of work as various as it is enduring. With this two-volume set, The Library of America presents the finest of Wharton's achievement in short fiction: 67 stories drawn from the entire span of her writing life, including the novella-length works The Touchstone, Sanctuary, and Bunner Sisters, eight shorter pieces never collected by Wharton, and many stories long out-of-print.
Her range of setting and subject matter is dazzling, and her mastery of style consistently sure. Here are all the aspects of Wharton's art: her satire, sometimes gentle, sometimes dark and despairing, of upper-class manners; her unblinking recognition of the power of social convention and the limits of passion; her merciless exposure of commercial motivations; her candid exploration of relations between the sexes.
The stories range with cosmopolitan ease from her native New York to the salons and summer hotels of Newport, Paris, and the Italian lakes. The depth of her response to World War I is registered in such works as "The Marne." Of particular interest are the remarkable stories, which treat occult and supernatural themes rarely encountered in her novels, such as the classic ghost stories "The Eyes" and "Pomegranate Seed."
Over the course of a long and astonishingly productive literary career that stretched from the early 1890s to just before World War II, Edith Wharton published nearly a dozen story collections, leaving a body of work as various as it is enduring. With this two-volume set, The Library of America presents the finest of Wharton's achievement in short fiction: 67 stories drawn from the entire span of her writing life, including the novella-length works The Touchstone, Sanctuary, and Bunner Sisters, eight shorter pieces never collected by Wharton, and many stories long out-of-print.
Her range of setting and subject matter is dazzling, and her mastery of style consistently sure. Here are all the aspects of Wharton's art: her satire, sometimes gentle, sometimes dark and despairing, of upper-class manners; her unblinking recognition of the power of social convention and the limits of passion; her merciless exposure of commercial motivations; her candid exploration of relations between the sexes.
The stories range with cosmopolitan ease from her native New York to the salons and summer hotels of Newport, Paris, and the Italian lakes. The depth of her response to World War I is registered in such works as "The Marne." Of particular interest are the remarkable stories, which treat occult and supernatural themes rarely encountered in her novels, such as the classic ghost stories "The Eyes" and "Pomegranate Seed."
848 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1937
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162 people want to read
About the author
Edith Wharton
1,416 books5,246 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 28, 2019
These short-stories are a bridge between Victorian and modern fiction.
October 3, 2011
This is a delightful collection. When I connect with her writing, I like Wharton as well as anyone. And here it is no different. I really loved several of the stories here, especially Bunner Sisters, Roman Fever, Charm Incorporated, Xingu, and Confession. Bunner Sisters I found especially moving, and a bit off of Wharton's normal milieu.
There are quite a few ghost stories, or stories that veer in that direction, and I found these less satisfying. At times, especially in these stories, it feels like she is under the spell of Henry James. I know I'm not the first one to say so. And in general, I find her quite distinct from James -- both original and masterful in her own right. But I always had a nagging feeling that with the strict adherence to point of view, the themes, and the insistence on ambiguity in these ghost stories; Wharton seemed to be leaning too much on her friend.
Even so, I liked this very much, and sometime I'm sure I will get around to reading the earlier volume.
There are quite a few ghost stories, or stories that veer in that direction, and I found these less satisfying. At times, especially in these stories, it feels like she is under the spell of Henry James. I know I'm not the first one to say so. And in general, I find her quite distinct from James -- both original and masterful in her own right. But I always had a nagging feeling that with the strict adherence to point of view, the themes, and the insistence on ambiguity in these ghost stories; Wharton seemed to be leaning too much on her friend.
Even so, I liked this very much, and sometime I'm sure I will get around to reading the earlier volume.
April 10, 2018
Similar to the first volume, in that most of the stories range from decent to pretty good. There are more stories I'd rate as excellent this time, but they're offset by the unfortunate number of consistently awful ghost stories (sigh).
November 28, 2020
“Bunner Sisters” really stands out in this volume. But there are many more treasures to be found: for example “A Bottle of Perrier,” “Roman Fever,” and Wharton’s wonderful last story, “All Souls’.” These stories, along with those in Volume I, have comforted me through the pandemic—particularly on days of maximum gloom. I will miss them, going forward.
May 23, 2022
Read Bunner Sisters
March 22, 2023
A good mix of subjects with some stories that feel pretty progressive for their time. Some excellent stories, a few pretty dull, overall an enjoyable read.
October 17, 2012
On a chilly mid-October night, reach for Edith Wharton. Oui, her skill with ghost stories will shock you. The stories are brief and economical in prose and twists, yet mystifying in their irresolution: the presence of the ghosts is never clear-cut, and attempts at their annihilation are never satisfyingly final. In "Bewitched," seductive female ghosts emerge as a standard social problem in a New England farming community. (The story was originally published in the Pictorial Review in February 1926. If only we could see the fashion mag's illustration of the sexy ghost slumped in the corner of a cabin!)
The other Wharton horrors I'm reading are not in this particular volume, but are easily found at public domain e-text databases online: "The Lady's Maid's Bell" and "Afterward," chosen after I saw the excellent 1983 UK television adaptations on a DVD set called "Shades of Darkness," which I highly recommend to anyone seeking subtle, creep-under-your-skin spooky movies.
The other Wharton horrors I'm reading are not in this particular volume, but are easily found at public domain e-text databases online: "The Lady's Maid's Bell" and "Afterward," chosen after I saw the excellent 1983 UK television adaptations on a DVD set called "Shades of Darkness," which I highly recommend to anyone seeking subtle, creep-under-your-skin spooky movies.
July 22, 2014
The second volume in the Library of America's collection of Edith Wharton's short stories. This is a terrific set of her short stories written between 1911 and 1937, and at something over 800 pages it becomes very easy to simply become immersed in her storytelling craft and find that you've just passed three or four hours reading two or three truly excellent stories. In all honesty I can say that I really didn't encounter a bad one in the lot, and most of them are sparkling gems. As I've said, time and again, as much as I like Edith Wharton's novels, I really do love her short stories. They are, in many respects, timeless, insightful, some even a bit spooky, but all are ever so entertaining.
December 16, 2016
I enjoyed dipping into one of these short tales from time to time, finding unique characters, settings, and moralities of those in early 20th century America.
August 12, 2008
If you like "Roman Fever" you will love this collection of Edith Wharton's short stories. My favorites are: Xingu, The Long Run, The Triumph of Night, Atrophy, A Bottle of Perrier, After Holdbein, Pomegranate Seed, Confession, Roman Fever (of course), The Looking Glass, and All Souls'. They all end with an ironic twist. Although these are my favorites, I finished all but two and found that, by the end, I enjoyed every one of them.
March 6, 2013
Mrs. Wharton was a genius. Unlike many single-author story collections, this one presents her skills in a surprising range of genres: social satire ("Xingu"), supernatural ("All Souls'" and many others), broken romance, war, self-reflection. Thoughtfully selected by Maureen Howard and, of course, handsomely published by LOA. I love the author chronologies at the back of these editions; they have not infrequently tempted me into full biographies.
Want to read
February 28, 2013I am enjoying reading one short story a night. My favorite so far is Xingu, truly the best, followed by The Marne.
April 21, 2015
Fair to middling stories by the author who just can't quite manage to live up to the title of grande dame of American literature...
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews