New Book of the Month

Edith Wharton remains one of America's greatest novelists. Wharton wrote in a style that was, paradoxically, as unique as it was universal. Because of this, her works are as engaging and entertaining today as they were when they were originally published. Notably, and perhaps as a testament to her skill and the universality of her themes, several of her well-known novels have been made into major motion pictures, including Age of Innocence (1993), House of Mirth (2000), and Ethan Frome (1993).

The New Book of the Month at SWC Library is the latest biography of Wharton, written by Hermione Lee (Edith Wharton, Knopf, 2007). Although many biographies have sought to describe Wharton's life and writing, "Nobody has done Edith Wharton such careful justice as Lee, who has brilliantly illuminated so many of the rooms in Wharton’s vast interior house." (Claire Messud, New York Times Book Review, 4/29/07). "Lee succeeds in eclipsing R.W.B. Lewis's excellent eponymous Wharton biography of 1975. Her conscientious research and attunement to her subject render a three-dimensional portrait of this complex woman." (Alison M. Lewis, Library Journal, 5/1/07). Regarding Wharton's works, "Lee cracks the elaborate code of details in Wharton's fiction." (Cathleen McGuigan, Newsweek, 5/7/07).

Edith Wharton by Hermione Lee (call number PS3545.H16 Z695 2007) is available in the new book area until June 16, when it moves to the regular book stacks.