The Best Short Stories of Edith Wharton

by Edith Wharton, Wayne Andrews (Introduction)

Edith Wharton is 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. Among her numerous novels, short stories, and travel writings are The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome, and the Pulitzer prize-winning Age of Innocence. In this volume Wharton explores the anguish and hypocrisy hanging over the lives of divorced women in The Other Two, Souls Belated, Autres Temps and The Last Asset. In Roman Fever she points out that defiance is often the weakest defense for a woman. She takes gentle jabs at women's clubs in Xingu, an old snob in After Holbein and the musty odor of New England's Indian Summer in Angel at the Grave. No collection of Wharton's stories would be complete without one of her ghost stories, Pomegranate Seed being one of her best. And finally, in Bunner Sisters she reminds us that she occasionally strayed down streets where no calling cards were ever left.

Genres: Short Stories

292 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Edith 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.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read this exact book because GR doesn't have mine listed. Reading these short stories introduced me to a lighter, more satirical Edith Wharton, relative to her novels.

The satirical Xingu is wonderful and fun for anyone who has ever belonged to a book group/club. "Fun" is not normally a word I associate with Wharton but this story was a lot of fun.

Roman Fever is also fabulous.

[Lesle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roman Fever 1-31-2021
Two childhood friends grow up together really not knowing each other that well for friends. Now they are wealthy widows and Mrs Slade and Mrs Ansley spend some time together at an upscale restaurant in Rome sitting by the low balcony wall. Both guessing what their daughters are up to this night and reminiscing about the grandmothers getting Roman Fever.
Mrs Slade decided to tell a secret from long ago. She says as a joke but it surely did not come across that way, but Mrs Ansley has thrown down the gauntlet and my mouth dropped open!
Very short and very precise 3 stars.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

At her very best, which some of these stories are, Wharton is as good as Jane Austen. Nearly all the stories share the theme of saving face when confronted by society's expectations.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels RIDICULOUS to be discovering Edith Wharton for the first time as a full-grown woman - I can't go around recommending her because everyone has read her already. But there's something Edith Wharton-y about being a woman who makes an important discovery when she is tragically too old for it to matter, so it feels appropriate.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite quote from this book:
"Her mind was an hotel where facts came and went like transient lodgers, without leaving their address behind, and frequently without paying for their board." Edith Wharton, Xingu

My second favorite:
"Must the most intelligent choice work more disastrously than the blundering combinations of chance?" Edith Wharton, Souls Belated

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Edith Wharton and her short stories are interesting, but let's be honest. She loves a depressing ending. And I don't.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wharton’s many layered characters are refreshing and complex. Every time I read something by her, I just want to devour everything she’s ever written.

[CC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edith Wharton writes well and I've enjoyed reading her a lot. But...still she has something lacking in my opinion that makes her less than great (excepting Ethan Frome).