What do you think?
Rate this book
A Motor-Flight Through France
Shedding the turn-of-the-century social confines she felt existed for women in America, Edith Wharton set out in the newly invented "motor-car" to explore the cities and countryside of France. In A Motor-Flight Through France , originally published in 1908, Wharton combines the power of her prose, her love for travel, and her affinity for France to produce this compelling travelogue.
Now back in print, this edition of will interest students of American literature as well as those who wish to see France through the eyes of a great American writer. The introduction analyzes Wharton's use of the genre of travel writing and places Wharton's work in the context of her life and times.
Now back in print, this edition of will interest students of American literature as well as those who wish to see France through the eyes of a great American writer. The introduction analyzes Wharton's use of the genre of travel writing and places Wharton's work in the context of her life and times.
253 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1908
22 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
About the author
Edith Wharton
1,462 books5,283 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 12, 2023
Sep 12, 1105am ~~ Ooh, a trip by car through France in 1908?! What fun!
And it was, mostly, especially in Part One. I was constantly looking up the various towns and their cathedrals that we visited, and most of the time I enjoyed the author's comments as tour guide. Not to mention all the pictures in the book. It was fun to compare them with the pictures in the Wiki articles. Since the book had been published in 1908 I was a little apprehensive in case any of the sites had suffered damage in the two World Wars since then, but as far as I could tell the majority of places were basically the same.
I think Wharton writes beautifully, but as in any travel book, it can be easy to fall into the trap of naming names and not giving as much as hoped for of personal details. Part Two had more of that feel to it, and became a bit boring as a result. But I still looked up people and places to read a bit more of their history. The author seemed to take it for granted than her readers would know who X, Y, or Z were but naturally many times I did not.
I also got a bit discouraged during the pages where they were visiting the house of George Sand. I have never read Sand (but I will give at least one title a try next year) so I was not as thrilled as Wharton was when she described her ability to imagine X, Y, and Z moving around the neighborhood just as they did in Sand's books.
I also became a little uncomfortable with the author's way of making what seemed to me backhanded compliments about the country and the people. In Part Two this came out strongly when she had luncheon in a place that was full of locals.
"It is for this reason, perhaps, that after a morning among the hills and valleys of the Morvan, in sight, almost continuously, of that astonishing Burgundian canal, with its long lines of symmetrical poplars, its massive masonry, its charming lock-houses, all repeating themselves like successive states of a precious etching—that after such a morning I seek, and seem to find, its culminating astonishment in the luncheon which crowned it in the grimy dining-room of the auberge at Précy-sous-Thil. But was it an auberge, even, and not rather a gargote, this sandy onion-scented “public,” with waggoners and soldiers grouped cheerfully about their petit vin bleu, while a flushed hand-maid, in repeated dashes from the kitchen, laid before us a succession of the most sophisticated dishes—the tenderest filet, the airiest pommes soufflées, the plumpest artichokes that ever bloomed on the buffet of a Parisian restaurant? It corresponded, at any rate, to the kind of place where, in any Anglo-Saxon country, one would have found the company as prohibitory as the food, and each equally a reason for fleeing as soon as possible from the other."
Overall, it was a pleasant trip, but I am not sure I would want to travel with our Edith again, to tell the truth. They seemed to rush through places: eventually I learned that they had visited many of these sites in Part One before, and so hurried themselves along in order to explore new places, which they also tended to hurry through, sort of scouting these areas for return trips in the future. I like to hang around a place a bit and get to know the true personality of a town, not just make the rounds of the 'major sites' and dash away. But everyone has their own style, of course.
And it was, mostly, especially in Part One. I was constantly looking up the various towns and their cathedrals that we visited, and most of the time I enjoyed the author's comments as tour guide. Not to mention all the pictures in the book. It was fun to compare them with the pictures in the Wiki articles. Since the book had been published in 1908 I was a little apprehensive in case any of the sites had suffered damage in the two World Wars since then, but as far as I could tell the majority of places were basically the same.
I think Wharton writes beautifully, but as in any travel book, it can be easy to fall into the trap of naming names and not giving as much as hoped for of personal details. Part Two had more of that feel to it, and became a bit boring as a result. But I still looked up people and places to read a bit more of their history. The author seemed to take it for granted than her readers would know who X, Y, or Z were but naturally many times I did not.
I also got a bit discouraged during the pages where they were visiting the house of George Sand. I have never read Sand (but I will give at least one title a try next year) so I was not as thrilled as Wharton was when she described her ability to imagine X, Y, and Z moving around the neighborhood just as they did in Sand's books.
I also became a little uncomfortable with the author's way of making what seemed to me backhanded compliments about the country and the people. In Part Two this came out strongly when she had luncheon in a place that was full of locals.
"It is for this reason, perhaps, that after a morning among the hills and valleys of the Morvan, in sight, almost continuously, of that astonishing Burgundian canal, with its long lines of symmetrical poplars, its massive masonry, its charming lock-houses, all repeating themselves like successive states of a precious etching—that after such a morning I seek, and seem to find, its culminating astonishment in the luncheon which crowned it in the grimy dining-room of the auberge at Précy-sous-Thil. But was it an auberge, even, and not rather a gargote, this sandy onion-scented “public,” with waggoners and soldiers grouped cheerfully about their petit vin bleu, while a flushed hand-maid, in repeated dashes from the kitchen, laid before us a succession of the most sophisticated dishes—the tenderest filet, the airiest pommes soufflées, the plumpest artichokes that ever bloomed on the buffet of a Parisian restaurant? It corresponded, at any rate, to the kind of place where, in any Anglo-Saxon country, one would have found the company as prohibitory as the food, and each equally a reason for fleeing as soon as possible from the other."
Overall, it was a pleasant trip, but I am not sure I would want to travel with our Edith again, to tell the truth. They seemed to rush through places: eventually I learned that they had visited many of these sites in Part One before, and so hurried themselves along in order to explore new places, which they also tended to hurry through, sort of scouting these areas for return trips in the future. I like to hang around a place a bit and get to know the true personality of a town, not just make the rounds of the 'major sites' and dash away. But everyone has their own style, of course.
March 4, 2018
From BBC radio 4 Extra:
In 1907, American writers Edith Wharton and Henry James made a journey through France in a Panhard car with two small dogs, Edith's husband and a chauffeur named Cook.
Michael Bakewell presents an account of their stately progress and of the friendship of the two remarkable authors, who observe the landscape and each other with wry humour.
Starring Joss Ackland as Henry James and Gayle Hunnicutt as Edith Wharton.
Producer: Julian Wilkinson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09s...
In 1907, American writers Edith Wharton and Henry James made a journey through France in a Panhard car with two small dogs, Edith's husband and a chauffeur named Cook.
Michael Bakewell presents an account of their stately progress and of the friendship of the two remarkable authors, who observe the landscape and each other with wry humour.
Starring Joss Ackland as Henry James and Gayle Hunnicutt as Edith Wharton.
Producer: Julian Wilkinson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09s...
August 2, 2024
Pubblicato la prima volta sotto forma di articoli sull'"Athlantic Monthly" fra il 1906 e il 1908, Viaggio in Francia, è il resoconto di due viaggi effettuati da Edith Warthon, il primo nel 1906 con il marito Teddy e il fratello di lei HarryJones, ed un secondo viaggio, l'anno successivo insieme all'amico Henry James, a bordo di una Phanard, partirono perl a Francia di allora, belle le descrizioni di chiese e cattedrali in stile gotico, strade all'epoca in aperta campagna, castelli della valle della Loira e fortezze, (mi è dispiaciuto tantissimo scoprire che il castello di Coucy, qui descritto, sia stato fatto saltare in aria dall'esercito tedesco nel 1917).
Utile il glossario alla fine, sarebbe stato ulteriormente più bello se arricchito da fotografie.
Utile il glossario alla fine, sarebbe stato ulteriormente più bello se arricchito da fotografie.
July 30, 2022
Une petite lecture de saison. C'était sympa, mais je préfère largement sa fiction cela dis. À conseiller à quelqu'un qui travaille sur le tourisme en France au début du XXe siècle !
June 9, 2025
RIP Edith Wharton. You would've loved travel vloggers.
Read
February 16, 2024suspect i would've enjoyed this more if i knew anything about architecture, but funny to read Wharton using the phrase "food for thought"
September 13, 2023
I believe author Edith Wharton (1862-1937) published as many as forty-eight books during her life, and among them were several travel tomes, including A Motor-Flight through France. It is based on tours she made of France in 1906-1907. She was delighted to be able to drive what we today would consider a primitive automobile instead of having to depend on trains and local forms of transportation to reach the sights or sites she wished to see. But I think the book is for a very special audience.
One, Wharton is a great student of architecture. In fact, her first few published books are about architecture. She visits many sites of ruins as well as churches and cathedrals about which she demonstrates great curiosity. Readers who have a common base with the author on these subjects are more likely to enjoy or make use of the book. If not, they may be doing a lot of research as they read. Also, if readers care for literary biography, they will enjoy Wharton’s two stops at the former home of George Sand.
In all, however, the book leaves out a lot. Wharton does not comment much on the scenery except in cursory (or “architectural” terms). She doesn’t pause to reflect much on local color provided through dining or local customs. Her trip seems indeed to be a flight through the countryside at the highest speed her car allows. I note the following exception:
The main reason that this book was reissued was because Mary Suzanne Schriber and companion chose to retrace Wharton’s steps in 1980, and enjoyed their trip so much that they felt that others should have the chance. Indeed, if anyone has the opportunity and l’argent ($ or €) to do that, more power to you, and be sure and take your copy of this book with you! BTW I bought my copy at Wharton’s home, The Mount, near Lennox, Massachusetts. The house and grounds are lovely.
One, Wharton is a great student of architecture. In fact, her first few published books are about architecture. She visits many sites of ruins as well as churches and cathedrals about which she demonstrates great curiosity. Readers who have a common base with the author on these subjects are more likely to enjoy or make use of the book. If not, they may be doing a lot of research as they read. Also, if readers care for literary biography, they will enjoy Wharton’s two stops at the former home of George Sand.
In all, however, the book leaves out a lot. Wharton does not comment much on the scenery except in cursory (or “architectural” terms). She doesn’t pause to reflect much on local color provided through dining or local customs. Her trip seems indeed to be a flight through the countryside at the highest speed her car allows. I note the following exception:
“It is for this reason, perhaps, that after a morning among the hills and valleys of the Morvan, in sight, almost continuously, of that astonishing Burgundian canal, with its long lines of symmetrical poplars, its massive masonry, its charming lock-houses, all repeating themselves like successive states of a precious etching—that after such a morning I seek, and seem to find, its culminating astonishment in the luncheon which crowned it in the grimy dining-room of the auberge at Précy-sous-Thil. But was it an auberge [inn], even, and not rather a gargote [greasy spoon], this sandy onion-scented ‘public,’ with waggoners and soldiers grouped cheerfully about the petit vin bleu [ordinary and mediocre wine], while a flushed hand-maid, in repeated dashes from the kitchen, lad before us a succession of the most sophisticated dishes—the tenderest filet, the airiest pommes soufflées [sliced potatoes fried twice], the plumpest artichokes that ever bloomed on the buffet of a Parisian restaurant?” (157). Wharton’s dinner knife seems to slice both ways.
The main reason that this book was reissued was because Mary Suzanne Schriber and companion chose to retrace Wharton’s steps in 1980, and enjoyed their trip so much that they felt that others should have the chance. Indeed, if anyone has the opportunity and l’argent ($ or €) to do that, more power to you, and be sure and take your copy of this book with you! BTW I bought my copy at Wharton’s home, The Mount, near Lennox, Massachusetts. The house and grounds are lovely.
May 27, 2012
Have car. Will travel. The book lends itself to a certain monotony ("ah, here we are in *another* charming French town. Oh yes, here is *another* charming French cathedral").
February 16, 2017
I found this delicious volume hidden away in a bookstore and I was in awe because of the fonts, the pages and most of all the pictures. A wonderful travel trough france where the words of the author, even if ripetitive I have to say, shows you a world that's not there anymore.
Ho trovato questo delizioso volume nascosto in una libreria e me ne sono innamorata subito per tanti motivi: il carattere utilizzato, la spaziatura, i margini e soprattutto le foto. Un fantastico viaggio attraverso una Francia che non c'é piú accompagnati dalle parole di una grande autrice, vale proprio la pena.
Ho trovato questo delizioso volume nascosto in una libreria e me ne sono innamorata subito per tanti motivi: il carattere utilizzato, la spaziatura, i margini e soprattutto le foto. Un fantastico viaggio attraverso una Francia che non c'é piú accompagnati dalle parole di una grande autrice, vale proprio la pena.
April 18, 2020
I really did not like this at all. I love Edith Wharton. I knew that she had done her travelling through France with Henry James and I thought this would be gossipy and lovely and full of interesting snippets. I suspect it is full of interesting snippets if you are really, really interested in church architecture and the history of French religion because that's basically what it is. I went here, it was dull. I went here it was very French. We wanted to stop here but we didn't, followed by a forensic discussion of apsidal chapels and flying buttresses.
June 23, 2020
I love Edith Wharton. And this book is nothing but her opinions on Gothic cathedrals in France. Interestingly, I ALSO love Gothic cathedrals in France. And have seen most of the ones she comments on.
Sadly, despite her gifts as a writer...her taste in cathedrals is excellent...but her writing about them is drab and tedious.
Sadly, despite her gifts as a writer...her taste in cathedrals is excellent...but her writing about them is drab and tedious.
November 3, 2021
This is an interesting travel narrative of its time. Edith Wharton describes travels by motor car through several areas of France in the early 1900s. Most of the descriptions relate to architecture and to a lesser extent to the landscape. It is frustrating not to read more about the food and the people - but Edith Wharton is not Elizabeth David!
March 3, 2022
Who knew Edith Wharton liked cathedrals
No mention of food companions or much or anything else but if you are interested in French cathedrals this is the book for you
No mention of food companions or much or anything else but if you are interested in French cathedrals this is the book for you
Read
August 14, 2024By no means as enjoyable as the book about racing, but an interesting sideline on the early years of motoring.
July 28, 2025
Surprisingly dull.
February 6, 2009
very difficult
October 15, 2021
Evocative landscape descriptions in alternation with cathedral visits. Repetitive, but in a soothing way.
Contains 17 occurrences of the word "picturesque".
Contains 17 occurrences of the word "picturesque".
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews