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Artemis to Actaeon and Other Verses
Edith Wharton (1862-1937), born Edith Newbold Jones, was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer. She combined her insider's view of America's privileged classes with a brilliant, natural wit to write humourous and incisive novels and short stories. Wharton was well-acquainted with many of her era's literary and public figures, including Henry James and Theodore Roosevelt. Besides her writing, she was a highly regarded landscape architect, interior designer, and taste-maker of her time. She wrote several influential books, including The Decoration of Houses (1897), her first published work, and Italian Villas and Their Gardens (1904). The Age of Innocence (1920), perhaps her best known work, won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for literature, making her the first woman to win the award. Her other works include: The Greater Inclination (1899), The Touchstone (1900), Sanctuary (1903), The Descent of Man and Other Stories (1904), The House of Mirth (1905), Madame de Treymes (1907), The Fruit of the Tree (1907), The Hermit and the Wild Woman and Other Stories (1908), Ethan Frome (1912), In Morocco (1921), and The Glimpses of the Moon (1921).
51 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 1909
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About the author
Edith Wharton
1,441 books5,275 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 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 6, 2018
The first few poems are good. The rest ponderous.
May 17, 2020
The first third was a little hard to follow, but the rest was pretty good.
June 5, 2022
Cute entertaining listening 🎶🔰
Another will written gathering of verses in a short story by Edith Wharton a collection of verses that are interesting and entertaining listening about life, relationships, and romance.I would recommend this novella to readers looking for a quick read that is a little different. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 a variety of novels 👍🔰 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do because of health issues. 2022 👒😊💑🏡
Another will written gathering of verses in a short story by Edith Wharton a collection of verses that are interesting and entertaining listening about life, relationships, and romance.I would recommend this novella to readers looking for a quick read that is a little different. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 a variety of novels 👍🔰 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do because of health issues. 2022 👒😊💑🏡
November 11, 2014
A collection of twenty four poems from one of the best writers of prose from her generation, famous for novels such as The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence, who proves here that she was a fine writer of verse also.
As the title suggests, many of the poems draw on classical antiquity, be it lyrical re-imaginings about or based on mythic figures (Actaeon, Marsyas in 'Life', 'Orpheus'), or elsewhere merely drawing on that vast pool of allusions.
Other themes include time, love and loss ('The Mortal Lease', 'A Meeting', 'Grief','A Grave'), as well as short pieces paying homage to some of the sights of her adopted Europe ('Chartres', 'The Tomb of Ilaria Giungi').
A couple of longish works celebrate the life and works of two pioneers: Margaret Of Cortona', patron saint of those needing help; and Vesalius ('Vesalius in Zarate'), the 16th century anatomist who conducted amongst the first dissections of the human body.
The language is wonderful, with a wise, yearning quality, the rhymes and meters varied and elegant throughout. She really was a talented lady. I really like 'All Souls' as well, where she brings the dead to life for their one hour every year.
As the title suggests, many of the poems draw on classical antiquity, be it lyrical re-imaginings about or based on mythic figures (Actaeon, Marsyas in 'Life', 'Orpheus'), or elsewhere merely drawing on that vast pool of allusions.
Other themes include time, love and loss ('The Mortal Lease', 'A Meeting', 'Grief','A Grave'), as well as short pieces paying homage to some of the sights of her adopted Europe ('Chartres', 'The Tomb of Ilaria Giungi').
A couple of longish works celebrate the life and works of two pioneers: Margaret Of Cortona', patron saint of those needing help; and Vesalius ('Vesalius in Zarate'), the 16th century anatomist who conducted amongst the first dissections of the human body.
The language is wonderful, with a wise, yearning quality, the rhymes and meters varied and elegant throughout. She really was a talented lady. I really like 'All Souls' as well, where she brings the dead to life for their one hour every year.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews