The End of the Age of Innocence: Edith Wharton and the First World War

by A. Price

Overview

The End of the Age of Innocence tells the dramatic story of Edith Wharton's heroic crusade to save the lives of displaced Belgians and suffering citizens of her adopted France, by organizing refugee relief efforts during WWI.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312176778
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	12/14/1997
Edition description:	1996
Pages:	238
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.02(d)

Editorial Reviews

Drawing on unpublished letters and archival materials in Europe and the United States, The End of the Ago of Innocence documents Wharton's activities as fund-raiser, philanthropist, propagandist, and political activist during the Great War. A fascinating account of a little-understood period of Wharton's life. Shari Bensk, author of No Gifts from Chance: A Biography of Edith Wharton

From the Publisher

Alan Price has written an elegant little volume that adds a new dimension to Wharton studies.

War, Literature, and the Arts - Elizabeth A. Muenger

Expatriate U.S. novelist Edith Wharton spent the years 1914-18 organizing, administering, and raising funds for relief for French and Belgian civilians displaced by World War I. Like her friend Henry James, Wharton identified a possible German victory with the "crash of civilization," and she fought it with forays into work unlike her other writings, such as war reportage and propaganda. Price (English and American studies, Pennsylvania State Univ., Hazelton) here uses Wharton's unpublished letters and the archival records of her relief organizations to depict a little-known period of her life and place it in historical context. He briefly discusses critical responses to Wharton's war writing and the uses she made of war in her later fiction. Smoothly written but without a strong narrative drive, his work will be most useful in academic libraries to support study of Wharton, women's war-relief activities, and the history of U.S. philanthropy.Carolynne Myall, Eastern Washington Univ. Lib., Spokane

Library Journal

Tells the story of the writer's crusade to help displaced citizens of Belgium and France during WWI. Wharton created organizations and organized relief efforts for three major charities, wrote war reportage at the front for magazines and newspapers, and rallied artists and writers to help sway American public opinion and raise money for refugees. Contains b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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