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Ethan Frome and other stories
Edith Wharton's novella Ethan Frome (1911) is a classic of American literature. A young girl, Mattie Silver is hired to keep house on the bleak New England farm belonging to Ethan Frome and his sickly wife Zeena, who is her cousin. Mattie completely captures Ethan's heart but the would-be lovers are kept apart by the spiteful Zeena, who then banishes the girl without warning. Before she leaves, Ethan takes Mattie on a promised sled run, with profound and dreadful consequences. Also included in this volume are four of Wharton's celebrated tales of the supernatural: The Triumph of Night; Kerfol; Afterward; and The Eyes.
176 pages, Paperback
Published July 15, 2018
About the author
Edith Wharton
1,711 books5,544 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 16, 2025
As many others have said, Ethan Frome is a great read - 4 or 5 stars.
The other stories are very skipable - 2 stars.
The other stories are very skipable - 2 stars.
December 26, 2025
Un buen chisme ... con un final inesperado. Edith Wharton y Henry James saben contar muy buen las peripecias de la sociedad de su tiempo.
September 26, 2024
3.5
I actually like Wharton’s writing style. It seems clearer and less flowery than some prose from that time period. I just felt all of her stories were too long. I really liked the tragic ending of Ethan Frome. I liked The Eyes and The triumph of night but both endings left me a little confused and I had to google to confirm their meanings. Kerfol was a fun but sad little story. Wharton often seems to need to use a frame story which adds to the length and never felt necessary. The only story in here I didn’t like was Afterward; it just felt kind of dumb.
I actually like Wharton’s writing style. It seems clearer and less flowery than some prose from that time period. I just felt all of her stories were too long. I really liked the tragic ending of Ethan Frome. I liked The Eyes and The triumph of night but both endings left me a little confused and I had to google to confirm their meanings. Kerfol was a fun but sad little story. Wharton often seems to need to use a frame story which adds to the length and never felt necessary. The only story in here I didn’t like was Afterward; it just felt kind of dumb.
March 6, 2021
Edith Wharton should not have been allowed to write about poor people.
March 10, 2026
Despite being a short novella (87 pages in the print I have), Ethan Frome took me two sessions to get through. I had intentionally started it on a blizzardy February day as my previous crack at the book ended in a DNF. My excuse is...it's just a wintery kind of book. This time, I had intended to read it through in one session, however as I came to find out, the tension in this book is intense.
The first half of the book provides an oppressive sense of sadness and suspense. I just sat on the edge of my seat and waited for something bad to happen. The second half builds on this, but provides us with passion, drama, awkward silences, a villain (with her own plot twist), and, unsurprisingly, a sadness as heavy and muted as the snow that blankets the Frome farm.
This is a book that benefits from slow-going. I had to pace myself to match the energy of the story, and not race to the finish so I could update my Goodreads (lol). I think if I had done as I set out, and read through it in one go, I would have missed a lot of nuance and depth to the story. The evocative prose lends itself well to the matter - I really felt like I was drowning in a never-ending winter, both as a season and as a life season. For the Fromes, winter as a metaphor for their life really is perpetual, and like the mostly-absent narrator, I found that just a tiny peek into their window was more than enough for one person to bear.
Edit: After finishing the short stories in this book, I really enjoy Wharton's prose. Afterward was for sure my favorite, Kerfol was suitably unsettling, and The Triumph of the Night was really interesting, if a little confusing. Overall I just enjoyed the cadence, sense of tension, and beautiful descriptions written into each work.
The first half of the book provides an oppressive sense of sadness and suspense. I just sat on the edge of my seat and waited for something bad to happen. The second half builds on this, but provides us with passion, drama, awkward silences, a villain (with her own plot twist), and, unsurprisingly, a sadness as heavy and muted as the snow that blankets the Frome farm.
This is a book that benefits from slow-going. I had to pace myself to match the energy of the story, and not race to the finish so I could update my Goodreads (lol). I think if I had done as I set out, and read through it in one go, I would have missed a lot of nuance and depth to the story. The evocative prose lends itself well to the matter - I really felt like I was drowning in a never-ending winter, both as a season and as a life season. For the Fromes, winter as a metaphor for their life really is perpetual, and like the mostly-absent narrator, I found that just a tiny peek into their window was more than enough for one person to bear.
Edit: After finishing the short stories in this book, I really enjoy Wharton's prose. Afterward was for sure my favorite, Kerfol was suitably unsettling, and The Triumph of the Night was really interesting, if a little confusing. Overall I just enjoyed the cadence, sense of tension, and beautiful descriptions written into each work.
May 7, 2020
Four stars for Ethan Frome but 2.5 for the others in the book. I love Wharton’s writing but they were skippable for me (especially the last one).
November 6, 2024
Ethan Frome - excellent!
The four short stories - crap.
The four short stories - crap.
January 8, 2025
Ethan Frome 4 stars
The other short stories in this collection:
Afterward & Kerfol 5 stars
The rest 3 stars
The other short stories in this collection:
Afterward & Kerfol 5 stars
The rest 3 stars
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews