False Dawn

Old New York #1

by Edith Wharton

In the 1840s, Lewis Raycie's domineering father sends him to Europe to buy art. When he selects Italian primitives, not yet recognized as masterpieces, his appalled father disinherits him, only to discover, too late, the wisdom of his son's intuition.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Audiobook, Classic Literature, Literature, Short Stories, American

143 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1924

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

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, this one was alright but it's not my favorite Wharton. These rich people sure are serious about their art, though. A few days ago my eleven year old bought a piece of trash (a broken pencil) from a classmate with the money I gave him to spend on his field trip.* I was just going to let it go, but after reading this novella I'm thinking I should probably disinherit him because there is absolutely no chance that that pencil is ever going to be worth anything.

And see how stupid that sounds? That's exactly how ridiculous Mr. Raycie sounds in this book. What a tool. You can't help but feel terrible for poor Lewis.

*This is a thing that actually happened, by the way. All of his field trip money for a floppy, useless rubber pencil that doesn't even write. Sigh.

[Paula Mota · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5*

A rapariga veio. Tinha 14 anos, consideravam-na banal, era pequena, escura e magricelas. Chamava-se Beatrice, o que, já de si, seria suficientemente mau, mas, para piorar, o nome havia sido abreviado por estrangeiros ignorantes por Treeshy. Porém, era ávida, prestável e bem-humorada e, como os amigos do senhor e da senhora Kent salientavam, a sua banalidade tornava tudo mais fácil.

F. Scott Fitzgerald considerou este livro “simplesmente perfeito, para lá de trágico”, mas eu não iria tão longe, visto que não é das minhas histórias preferidas de Edith Wharton. Em cerca de 80 páginas, a autora resume a vida de Lewis Raycie desde que completa 21 anos e se prepara para a Grande Viagem pela Europa, onde terá como missão comprar quadros para o seu fleumático e avaro pai criar uma galeria privada, um símbolo de estatuto na Nova Iorque da década de 1840, até à sua viagem em poucos capítulos, ao seu regresso, à reacção do pai face às suas escolhas artísticas e à sua fé sem limites na moderna colecção que reuniu.

Apenas se sabia de duas pessoas além do senhor Raycie que as tinham visto. Uma era o senhor Kent, que devia o privilégio ao facto de ter estado uma vez em Itália; a outra, o senhor Reedy, o agente que desempacotara os quadros. O senhor Reedy, rodeado por primos Raycie e velhos amigos da família, tinha respondido com genuína humildade:
- Ora, a verdade é que nunca me ensinaram a perceber qualquer diferença entre um quadro e outro, excepto no que diz respeito ao tamanho deles; e estes parecem-me pequenitos... assim mais para o pequeno, diria eu...

“Falso Amanhecer” é sobre a tacanhez de espírito, o exibicionismo e o novo-riquismo encarnados na figura paterna, cuja descrição é impagável.

Havia tanto dele e ele tinha tantas superfícies, que era fascinante ver cada regato de humidade seguir a sua própria bacia hidrográfica particular. Mesmo nas suas mãos grandes com um aspecto fresco, as gotas dividiam-se, escorregando de maneiras diferentes pelos sulcos dos dedos; e quanto à sua testa e têmporas, e à elevada almofada de bochecha sob cada uma das suas pálpebras inferiores, cada uma dessas encostas tinha o seu próprio riacho particular, os seus lagos rasos e as suas súbitas cataratas.

Se Lewis Raycie era um visionário ou um papalvo concluirá cada um com a leitura desta sóbria mas agradável edição da nova colecção de clássicos da Editora Guerra & Paz.

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am liking Edith Wharton’s books more and more. I definitely prefer her shorter pieces over her longer. This one is funny. Read each line carefully. You must see the humor!

I do not want to tell you what it is about; you might just as well read the story. It is that short.

I will only say that I like the mix of characters, some good and some bad, those who are nasty and those who are sweet. Yet Wharton never falls into the trap of characters being two dimensional.

This is a clever commentary on the appreciation of art, set in the Gilded Age of New York City.

Wharton is truly talented in her ability to depict people and places and behavior. Realism drawn with flair.

Derek Jaacobi does a wonderful job narrating the audiobook. You are compelled to smile as you listen.

Grab this—soon!


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The Old Maid: The 'Fifties 5 stars
Bunner Sisters 4 stars
False Dawn 4 stars
Summer 4 stars
The Reef 3 stars
Xingu 3 stars
The House of Mirth 3 stars
The Eyes 2 stars
The Age of Innocence 1 star
Ethan Frome 1 star

Coming Home TBR
The Glimpses of the Moon TBR
The Marne TBR
Edith Wharton TBR

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Mr. Raycie was a monumental man. His extent in height, width and thickness was so nearly the same that whichever way he was turned one had an almost equally broad view of him; and every inch of that mighty circumference was so exquisitely cared for that to a farmer’s eye he might have suggested a great agricultural estate of which not an acre is untilled.”

Young Lewis Raycie is sent by his father on a Grand Tour with the mission of collecting some Old Masters to form the nucleus of a gallery. Lewis turns out to have an eye for art that is ahead of its time. However, no one else in his family, or in all of New York, shares his appreciation for these paintings. Wharton shows her usual skill at creating characters and observing society. The narration by Derek Jacobi of the audiobook was excellent.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew that Edith Wharton could be funny? I didn't until I listened to this novella. It has Wharton's usual beautiful writing and well-turned characters. Derek Jacobi narrates the audiobook to perfection turning this gem of a novella into a treasured listening experience.

Highly recommended.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lewis Raycie is sent to Europe with hopes by his father that he'll sow his wild oats and bring back beautiful artwork like a Raphael, for a gallery. Unfortunately, father and son don't see eye to eye.
This highlights a tense relationship between a father and son and how different they see the world. His father wants his son to live by his rules and wants to live vicariously through his son, but Lewis has different ideas on what he wants for his life. Parents often want to live through their children, because they regret how they lived and that they didn't get to do certain things when they were young. It puts pressure on the child and they at times will rebel just to escape that pressure. The novella also looks how and how its objective and just because we and most of the people around us think something is considered art doesn't mean everyone agrees. This sad but lovely written story by Edith Wharton.

[Sharone Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely short story which encapsulates Wharton's style: When a New York millionaire father sends his son to Europe to "form his own taste in art," they both know he doesn't really mean it. After all, the father made a list and provided the funds for the son to buy very specific pieces for his collection, painted only by the artists who were "approved" by American high society at the time. He wants the son to bring back painting of the old masters.

But Lewis, who spends two years in Europe and is greatly influenced by art critic John Ruskin, comes back home not with a Raphael, but with a Rosetti, one of the new "Pre-Raphaelite" artists.

Edith Wharton found this beautiful way to criticize New York society (as she always did in her stories) while involving a beautiful, new art trend. I really enjoyed this story. If anything, I found it too short!

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possibly my favourite Wharton other than The Age of Innocence, but that’s not saying much. I can’t imagine she was a very happy soul. She wrote well, technically, but it’s all pretty gloomy.

[diario_de_um_leitor_pjv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uma novela menos conseguida da extensa obra de Edith Wharton.

[Linda Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are only three or four American novelists who can be thought of as 'major' - and Edith Wharton is one." --Gore Vidal One of my goals is to read all her books.
This audio novella is a gem. The force and precision of Wharton's language are brought vividly to life by Jacobi, an actor whose beautiful voice you recognize only for an instant before you both submerge in the story. Wharton doesn't waste a word, or even a pause, and I had to hear the first cassette twice before I understood exactly who was doing what to whom. Which is not a criticism, since I relished the second listening as I had the first. The wrenching conclusion will break your heart and then clear your head.

[Tina D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huge fan of Edith Wharton but didn't enjoy this so much; the outcome can be seen from so far ahead it kind of spoils the reading. And I'd just finished listening to another New York tale of an Italian painting, The Dodomenico Fragment by Amor Towles, which I enjoyed far more. It's a coincidence that I read them back to back, they happen to make very good companion pieces. Will likely read them both again and reflect.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book but I read it after "The House of Mirth," which was wonderful albeit tragic. Edith Wharton was a wonderful writer and so my rating is only in comparison to her writing.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why do I always open myself up to Wharton’s sad endings?

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neatly turned brief gem, sadly concluded. Derek Jacobi interprets perfectly on the audio.

[Rebecca Russavage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple gotcha tale on the stuffy old guard. What a gorgeous opening line though.

[Carley Hoover · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A short and enjoyable story. I liked Wharton’s writing and am now interested to read more.

[Tom Hurst · Rating 3 out of 5]

As in Wharton’s Ethan Frome, there is a sense of tragic irony in this novella.

Lewis Raycie is a sensitive young American man whose opportunity to escape his controlling, pretentious father comes in the form of The Grand Tour of the old world; an opportunity to build character and (at his father’s request) bring home fine art status symbols to establish a prestigious family legacy. Rather than fickle taste, received wisdom or fashionability, Lewis follows his own passions and sense of beauty, even when they seem without value or embarrassing to his materialistic, snobbish milieu. This applies as much to his love life as his art collecting.

To the ambitious but somewhat nouveau riche older generation, The Grand Tour represents a commodified experience of sex and of culture, but for Lewis it is an opportunity for genuine personal development, and his romantic and aesthetic passions are for spiritually pure beauty, rather than the obvious or the commercial. The older generation fetishise European culture without understanding it, while American culture goes unappreciated.

I wonder if it’s too much to imagine that Lewis (and his beloved Beatrice, explicitly tied to Dante’s Divine Comedy) represent the ‘narrow way’, i.e. the unworldly, ascetic Christian idea of the route to heaven, in contrast with the flashy, material ‘broad way’ followed by his father’s social set.

In the clash between Lewis’s delicate aesthetics and his father’s boorish ambition, the social dawn of the Raycie family as a dynasty of taste and propriety meets an obstacle. Perhaps only posterity may reveal the aesthetic (and monetary - and perhaps spiritual?) value of things.

I listened to the audio version read (not really to my taste) by Derek Jacobi.

[Andy Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, slightly sad, story about a young New Yorker from a rich family who, instructed by his bullying father to buy certain pieces of art for a new gallery, falls in with Ruskin and the pre-raphaelites, enhances his understanding of art and returns with a much finer collection, only to be promptly disinherited. Without giving the ending away too precisely that is not a conte moral unfortunately, though I think it would have made a good one. But the son does seem to end up happy being married to the woman he desired before his journey so it is at least a romantic one.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so enjoying these novellas. I definitely need to read the rest of them. This one is very short and bittersweet. Poor poor Lewis. The writing here is just exquisite.

[#DÏ4B7Ø Chinnamasta-Bhairav]

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To SEE a WORLD in a Grain of Sand,
And a HEAVEN in a Wild Flower,
Hold INFINITY in the palm of your hand
And ETERNITY in an Hour"
~ William Blake ~

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“Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. And between the two my life flows.” Nisargadatta Maharaj

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Form is Emptiness; Emptiness is form.
Form is not different than Emptiness;
Emptiness is not different than form
~ Heart Sutra ~

Like the ocean and its waves,
inseparable yet distinct

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" I and The Father are one,
I am The Truth,
The Life and The Path.”

Like a river flowing from its source,
connected and continuous

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Thy kingdom come.
Let the reign of divine
Truth, Life, and Love
be established in me,
and rule out of me all sin;
and may Thy Word
enrich the affections of all mankind

A mighty oak tree standing firm against the storm,
As sunlight scatters the shadows of night
A river nourishing the land it flows through

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[Beda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars This novella by Edith Wharton was most enjoyable to me. It is set in the mid-nineteenth century in New York and Europe and is about a young man who gets set to Europe by his wealthy father to study art and letters and to travel and hopefully in the process become a ‘proper gentleman’

The night before he leaves for Europe, his father increases his allowance for the trip on condition that his only son return from Europe with small, modest examples of the Old Masters. Painters with well known names, like Raphael. Instead, his son discovers the work of some early renaissance painters who are not as popular (yet), buys several paintings, and promptly gets disinherited by his father for bringing home what his father regards as junk. Not because it IS junk, for his father has no real interest in or knowledge of art. No, it’s regarded as junk because it’s still unknown and can thus not help the family to increase their social standing in New York.

The rest of the novella deals with how the pictures eventually are discovered and given their due.

For me, this was a fun, if rather sad, story because as an art enthusiast and international museum mavin, I have seen the work of many of the artists described. And of course, I sympathize with the son, who is never believed by his father despite really ‘knowing his stuff’.

I’m not sure if this story would appeal to a wider audience, but I enjoyed Edith Wharton’s wit as well as the narrator of the audiobook, Derek Jacobi, who was tremendous.

*I listened to this novella on Audible.

[False · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a first edition of this book from the library, published in 1924, and it's always a thrill to hold the original book of it's era. This is a series of four small books, this one being officially titled "Old New York: False Dawn (The Forties," meaning the 1840's.

When Lewis Raycie, at age twenty-one, is sent abroad for two years to "form his taste [and] fortify his judgment," his father gives him five thousand dollars to purchase fine art on his father's behalf. His father's tastes are those of his upperclass friends, unformed by personal interest or study, and he especially hopes that Lewis will acquire a Raphael, since Raphaels are in vogue among his friends. In Italy, however, Lewis purchases Italian "primitives" by Giotto, Piero Della Francesca, Mantegna, and Carpaccio, paintings he loves and which he believes will form a stunning foundation for his father's gallery.

Though Lewis has, in fact, "formed his taste and fortified his judgment," exactly what he was expected to do in his tour of Europe, his father is outraged when he sees these paintings, all by artists he considers inferior--he has never heard of them and none of his friends collect them--and Lewis is disinherited. The novella follows Lewis and his wife Treeshy as they deal with the personal and social consequences of Lewis's art purchases.

[Rana Al-alwani · Rating 3 out of 5]

• الفجر الكاذب
( الأربعينيات )
تتحدث النوڤيلا عن عائلة هالستن ريسي المكونة منه و من زوجته السيدة ريسي ( صاحبة المال و العقار و التي صودرت منها بحجة أنها لا تستطيع إدارة أملاكها ، فعاشت على التقتير في الصرفيات حتى تكسب ود زوجها المادي الأناني الديكتاتوري الصارم المجحف )
و من ابنتهم سارا آن ( حبيبة والدها لشبهها و تخلقها بأخلاقه و التي ستتزوج من سليل ابن عائلة هزرد المصرفية العريقة )
و ابنتهم ميري آدلين ( التي ستتزوج أيضًا زواجًا لائقًا من سليل ابن عائلة كنت )
و ابنهم لويس هالستن ( الذي سيتزوج بمن يُحب و التي لم تكن صاحبة مالٍ و لا عقار ، و سيغضب عليع والده ليحرمه من حقه في الميراث مُقابل أن يهبه لوحات فنية اشتراها لويس أثناء زيارته لأوروبا )
تتوالى الأحداث حتى النهاية التي جاءت مؤلمة و لكنها صادقة في زمن طغت عليه المادة و المصالح و النظرة المجتمعية .

أولى روايات رباعية نيويورك القديمة لــ إيدث وورتن ، الكاتبة الأمريكية من مواليد مدينة نيويورك ( 24 ي��اير 1862م - 11 أغسطس 1937م )
نُشرت هذه الرواية للمرة الاولى عام 1924م .
هذه التجربة الأولى لي مع كتاباتها ، التي اتسمت بوصفها المحايد لمجتمع أثرياء نيويورك الأُرستقراطي الراقي ، فكيف لا و هي سليلة عائلة تنتمي لهم ؟!!!


أَعطيت تجربتي ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

the scion of an upper-class family of Old New York is sent on the Grand Tour with the specific charge of returning home with a notable art collection, to include in particular a Raphael. but the young man makes the acquaintance of some traveling pre-Raphaelites and, under their tutelage and influence, acquires a very unfashionable--but magnificent--collection of Italian medieval artworks. upon his return home his father is so enraged by his son's presumption that he disinherits the young man, and the collection goes into obscurity, only to be appreciated after the protagonist's death. what i enjoyed most is that this is a fictionalized depiction of actual events--inspired by the story of the collector James Jackson Jarves, whose priceless collection of Italian masterpieces was unappreciated in his own day and eventually sold for a pittance to the Yale Art Gallery, where it now forms the core of its medieval collections.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lewis Raycie turned 21 and was sent on a grand European tour by his father to sow his oats, mature into a man and to buy art. His father dreamed of having a gallery full of Old Masters. But what Lewis brought back were new Italian artists. His father was so upset he disowned him and died soon after. Lewis believed they would be recognized has masterpieces but it didn’t happen until a half century later when he was long dead. 2.5 stars

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I was inspired to chose this on audible by reading the Booker listed ‘trust’ which is written in a Wharton like style. A clever little novella that is part morality tale written in EW’s ironic style. I now want to read more by her as I haven’t read her books since my old green spine virago days.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is the cost of intuition? A young man is sent abroad to procure masterpieces for his father’s gallery. When he returns home with primitive Italian art he is shunned and disinherited. Not until generations later is it revealed that the art is priceless. Wharton’s attention to detail regarding wealth and architecture is also priceless.

[Jacqui Molendyke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, quick read after Age of Innocence, observing Old New York families continuing to live on life's surface. Wharton is clever in both her analysis and her poking at old society's predilections and what was deemed and perceived important. And in the end, Lewis was right and the Racies disappeared almost entirely from sight. Family stories remain as distant and fuzzy as ever.

[Lloyd Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading an Edith Wharton tale. Her tale always wags and her writing is dust free. Wondering how much the value of the Raphael increased during the same time period as Lewis’s Italian Primitives?

False Dawn delivers, 4 stars — recommended reading.

[Lindsay Heller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so Wharton. She's never given credit for how funny she is. This was sort of vindicating in the end, but also somewhat frustrating, and somewhat (intentionally) ridiculous. I want to read all the novellas from her New York series, this is the first.