Tales of Men and Ghosts

By Edith Wharton

1910

First Published

3.53

Average Rating

277

Number of Pages

8H27M

Audio Length

EDITH WHARTON (1862-1937) was one of the most remarkable women of her time, and her immense commercial and critical success-most notably with her novel "The Age of Innocense" (1920), which won a Pulitzer Prize-have long overshadowed her small but distinguished body of supernatural fiction. Some of her finest fantastic and detective work (which oft times overlap) was first collected in 1909 in "Tales of Men and Ghosts." The psychological horror is as important as the literal one here, and subtle ambiguities characterized by the best of Henry James' work (such as "The Turn of the Screw") are also present in Wharton's character studies, such as "The Bolted Door." Is the protagonist a murderer, or is he mad? In the end it may not matter, for it is his descent into madness and obsession that gives the story its chilling frisson. Other tales present men (or ghosts, or what men believe to be ghosts) in a variety of lights, from misunderstood monsters to vengeful spirits to insecure artists. If you have never read Edith Wharton's fantasy work before, you will be captivated and delighted. Without a doubt, this is a landmark book, and an important addition to the Wildside Fantasy Classics line.

Avg Rating

3.53

Number of Ratings

322

5 STARS

14%

4 STARS

37%

3 STARS

38%

2 STARS

10%

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

Edith Wharton

Author · 123 books

Edith Newbold Jones was born into such wealth and privilege that her family inspired the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses." The youngest of three children, Edith spent her early years touring Europe with her parents and, upon the family's return to the United States, enjoyed a privileged childhood in New York and Newport, Rhode Island. Edith's creativity and talent soon became obvious: By the age of eighteen she had written a novella, (as well as witty reviews of it) and published poetry in the Atlantic Monthly. After a failed engagement, Edith married a wealthy sportsman, Edward Wharton. Despite similar backgrounds and a shared taste for travel, the marriage was not a success. Many of Wharton's novels chronicle unhappy marriages, in which the demands of love and vocation often conflict with the expectations of society. Wharton's first major novel, The House of Mirth, published in 1905, enjoyed considerable literary success. Ethan Frome appeared six years later, solidifying Wharton's reputation as an important novelist. Often in the company of her close friend, Henry James, Wharton mingled with some of the most famous writers and artists of the day, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, André Gide, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, and Jack London. In 1913 Edith divorced Edward. She lived mostly in France for the remainder of her life. When World War I broke out, she organized hostels for refugees, worked as a fund-raiser, and wrote for American publications from battlefield frontlines. She was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her courage and distinguished work. The Age of Innocence, a novel about New York in the 1870s, earned Wharton the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1921 — the first time the award had been bestowed upon a woman. Wharton traveled throughout Europe to encourage young authors. She also continued to write, lying in her bed every morning, as she had always done, dropping each newly penned page on the floor to be collected and arranged when she was finished. Wharton suffered a stroke and died on August 11, 1937. She is buried in the American Cemetery in Versailles, France.

Barnesandnoble.com