Madame de Treymes and Other Stories

by Edith Wharton

A free-spirited young American attempts to extricate herself from a failed marriage to an aristocratic Frenchman in Edith Wharton's entertaining novella. "Madame de Treymes," written in 1907, offers a concise perspective on the differences between American and French society from the vantage point of a master storyteller who is also an astute observer of European manners and customs.
This compilation of Wharton's short fiction features three additional stories. "Autres Temps …" tells of a woman who fled New York society after the scandalous dissolution of her marriage but is compelled to return upon the occasion of her daughter's divorce and hasty remarriage. "The Long Run" centers on a businessman's failure to accept an offer of love that's accompanied by the risk of social stigma. In "The Triumph of Night," a psychological thriller, a greedy uncle tries to appropriate a young relative's inheritance. These thought-provoking stories reflect their author's characteristic interest in the innate hypocrisy of society, generational conflicts, and challenges to moral courage.

Genres: Classics, Classic Literature

47 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1916

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

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads' book description is incorrect. The four novelettes in this collection are:
The Touchstone (1900)
Sanctuary (1903)
Madame de Treymes (1907)
Bunner Sisters (1916)

[handsfeetlegs · Rating 4 out of 5]

this collection of 4 novellas by Edith Wharton is really good cuz it was written by Edith Wharton so of course it's really good.
my ranking of these stories goes
1. The Touchstone
2. Madame de Treymes
3. Sanctuary
4. Bunner Sisters
with the last one being the only one of the four that doesn't have the setting of New York High Society, which is why I think it was my least fav. all the stories tho, while not 5/5s, still very solid 4/5s. you can kinda see in these occasionally how sometimes her very complex prose can be a detriment, in the cases when there's not much to be conveyed but she still goes nutty with her paragraph long descriptive sentences. ALSO, I think reading back to back Edith Wharton (like in a collection) is bad for mental health, as I feel like you need to have some palette cleansers in between lmao.
overall a solid 8/10 collection, would recommend only to fellow mentally ill Edith Wharton heads 🤪

[Terri · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Edith Wharton's ability to subtly show character motivation is apparent in these three novellas, including Sanctuary about a mother-son relationship tainted by a dishonest father; Madam De Treymes is a study of American and French values and how they affect a woman getting divorced and her lover; and then the Bonner Sisters, which shows how the altruism of an older sister for her younger sister ultimately ruins both sisters' lives.
I listened to the Blackstone Audiobook as narrated by Anna Fields who did a great job with male and female voices as well as accents.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edith Wharton is very wordy, but her language is so subtle and beautiful, it's worth reading. So much is implied rather than outwardly stated, it can be hard for a contemporary reader to decipher what is going on. However, if her themes and characters seem too old fashioned, consider that the final novel in this book deals with urban poverty, drug addiction, homelessness and discrimination against older workers. Some things don't change.

[Dana DesJardins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amid viperous social maneuvering, Wharton's stories suggest that only unconditional love -- for a child, a lover, or a sister -- offers a way out. Her psychological penetration is unparalleled. I was moved by Wharton's existential belief that though we have to be true to ourselves, it will not alter our circumstances, only our ability to sleep at night.

[Carol Painter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 2 stories were definitely written as she was developing her marvelous style 1900& 1903)... the last two are great examples of how one's writing CAN and DOES get better and better (1907 & 1916). I love my Edith:)

[Sina]

Less polished than age of innocence but evocative and the last one made me so sad

[Annabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four novellas, each one better than the one preceding it. Wharton's characters speak so eloquently, I sometimes interpret it as vague. But the dialogue is nothing compared to the narratives, so Jamesoniann I struggled with the prose, making re-readings necessary.

Moral dilemmas dictate the narratives of the first three stories. There are no villains, only characters who go through moral ambiguities, which supply the taut tension that hooked this reader in. Having read my share of Wharton, who has been a longtime favorite in spite of her penchant for tragi-curves, I was surprised at the endings of these first three stories: nothing tragic, and while these do not end happily, at least they end with moral closure.

Not so with the fourth, and what I'd say is the best novella here. Bunner Sisters is reminiscent of my first Wharton book, The House of Mirth. Which is to say, mirth doesn't figure into the story at all. But if The House of Mirth was about missed chances, Bunner Sisters is a story of taken chances. And the tragedy that awaits it. Sad, SAD story. But so wonderfully weaved.

Edith Wharton is incapable of writing bad prose.