Edith Wharton's Writings from the Great War

Library Journal

Best known for her novels, Edith Wharton also wrote poetry, short stories, journalism, and other nonfiction. Olin-Ammentorp (English, LeMoyne Coll.) here traces the theme of Wharton's reaction to World War I through her various writings of the period, including her correspondence. Wharton lived in France during the war, visited the front on several occasions, and was active in relief work during and after the war. Though she did not see combat, she certainly saw her share of suffering and lost her nephew and several friends. Olin-Ammentorp chronicles Wharton's shifting view of the war over time and her sense of the apocalyptic social changes it brought about. Two highlights are the appraisal of Wharton's often-overlooked postwar novel, A Son at the Front, and the appendixes, which collect Wharton's war poetry and prose, some of it appearing here for the first time in print. Recommended for academic libraries and larger public libraries.-Alison M. Lewis, Drexel Univ., Philadelphia Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.