Edith Wharton in context
By: [edited by] Laura Rattray, University of Hull
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Cambridge
Language: eng
Number of pages: 400
ISBN-13: 9781107010192
Subjects: LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General; Criticism and interpretation
Description: "This collection of essays examines the various social, cultural, and historical contexts surrounding Edith Wharton's popular and prolific literary career"--

"Edith Wharton was one of America's most popular and prolific writers, becoming the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1921. In a publishing career spanning seven decades, Wharton lived and wrote through a period of tremendous social, cultural, and historical change. Bringing together a team of international scholars, this volume provides the first substantial text dedicated to the various contexts that frame Wharton's remarkable career. Each essay offers a clearly argued and lucid assessment of Wharton's work as it relates to seven key areas: life and works, critical receptions, book and publishing history, arts and aesthetics, social designs, time and place, and literary milieux. These sections provide a broad and accessible resource for students coming to Wharton for the first time while offering scholars new critical insights. Of interest to English and American studies departments, the volume will also appeal to researchers in gender studies, film studies, book history, art history, and transatlantic studies"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: List of illustrations; Notes on contributors; List of abbreviations; Preface; Part I. Life and Works: 1. Edith Wharton: contextual revisions Laura Rattray; 2. Chronology: Wharton in cultural and historical context Pamela Knights and Laura Rattray; 3. Biography Melanie Dawson; 4. Composition and publication Sharon Kehl Califano; 5. Portraits of Wharton Susan Goodman; Part II. Critical Receptions: 6. Contemporary reviews 1877-1938 Heidi M. Kunz; 7. Obituaries Linda De Roche; 8. 'Justice' to Edith Wharton?: The early critical responses Melissa M. Pennell; 9. Modern critical receptions Jessica Schubert McCarthy; Part III. Book and Publishing History: 10. Wharton and her editors Sharon Shaloo; 11. Selling Wharton Gary Totten; 12. Serialization Elsa Nettels; 13. Short story markets Bonnie Shannon McMullen; Part IV. Arts and Aesthetics: 14. Stage adaptations of Wharton's fiction John Dennis Anderson; 15. Wharton's writings on screen Anne-Marie Evans; 16. Visual arts Emily J. Orlando; 17. Architecture Cecilia Macheski; 18. Interior and garden design Helena Chance; 19. Images of Wharton Katherine Joslin; Part V. Social Designs: 20. The marriage market Pamela Knights; 21. Leisured lives Maureen E. Montgomery; 22. Wharton and gender Linda Wagner-Martin; 23. Race and imperialism Margaret Toth; 24. Social transitions Adam Jabbur; Part VI. Time and Place: 25. Wharton and France William Blazek; 26. Wharton and Italy Robin Peel; 27. Wharton and World War I Julie Olin-Ammentorp; 28. The 1920s Gail D. Sinclair; 29. Wharton and the Great Depression Carol J. Singley; Part VII. Literary Milieux: 30. Literary influences Judith P. Saunders; 31. Wharton and the American romantics Linda Costanzo Cahir; 32. The novel of manners Cecilia Macheski; 33. Naturalism Donna Campbell; 34. Modernism Jennifer Haytock; Further reading; Index.