First published 1998
This collection cannot be written from inside the story as it contains multiple short stories rather than a single narrative. The volume gathers Wharton's complete short fiction, demonstrating her skill across different forms of the short story. While readers know Wharton primarily through her novels The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth, these stories reveal her command of briefer fictional forms. The collection spans her career and shows her ability to work within various approaches to short narrative. Each story operates as a complete work, offering readers the chance to see Wharton's range beyond her longer fiction. The stories collectively show an author equally adept at compressed storytelling as at novel-length works.
Genres: short-stories, anthologies, american-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-driven, slice-of-life
Setting: United States
Period: Early 20th Century
625 pages · Paperback · Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc.