People can fall in love, but rarely do things turn out well. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 176 pages and is available in paperback format. Edith wharton filled her novels with a feeling of ruin, passion and restriction. Edith wharton wrote ethan frome as a frame story meaning that the prologue and epilogue constitute a frame around the main story.
Ethan frome book by edith wharton official publisher. Ethan frome by edith wharton, first edition abebooks. In 1917, when edith wharton published summer, she was living in a france steeped in the tragic realities of war. Book summary edith wharton wrote ethan frome as a frame story meaning that the prologue and epilogue constitute a frame around the main story. Edith whartons ethan frome is a classic of american literature, with compelling characters trapped in circumstances from which they seem unable to escape.
Different in both tone and theme from whartons other works, ethan frome has become perhaps her most enduring and most widely read book. Another popular novel by wharton is ethan frome 1911. The cold, desolate landscape forms the backdrop to the intense, tragic tale of its eponymous hero. Ethan frome works his unproductive farm and struggles to maintain a bearable existence. Edith wharton books biography and list of works author. In contrast, she used a harsher tone in her novel ethan frome to convey the atmosphere of lowerclass rural massachusetts. A national historic landmark, today the mount is a cultural center that celebrates the intellectual, artistic and humanitarian legacy of edith wharton. His ambition and intelligence are oppressed by zeenas cold, conniving character. Whartons protagonists challenge social taboos, but are unable to overcome the barriers of social convention. Unlike many contemporary takes on literary classics, this book is a rich and satisfying novel in its own right, as well as a fascinating twist on edith wharton s grim 1911 standard, ethan frome. Click to read more about ethan frome by edith wharton. The main characters are ethan frome, his wife zenobia, called zeena, and her young cousin mattie silver. In the playing out of this short novel s powerful and engrossing drama, edith wharton constructed her least characteristic and most celebrated book.
Ethan frome by edith wharton nook book ebook barnes. I think the ebook i purchased was translated from some language other than english by someone whose first language is not english. Pdf ethan frome book by edith wharton free download 176. The novel s heroine, eighteenyearold charity royall, is bored in the. Ethan frome, a poor, downtrodden new england farmer, is trapped in a loveless marriage to his invalid wife, zeena. Edith wharton 18621937 published more than forty books during her lifetime, including the classic gilded age society novels ethan frome, the house of mirth, and the age of innocence, for which she became the first woman to win the pulitzer prize for fiction. Free download or read online ethan frome pdf epub book. Perhaps the bestknown and most popular of edith whartons novels, ethan frome is widely considered her masterpiece. The upper stratum of new york society into which edith wharton was born in 1862 provided her with an abundance of material as a novelist but did not encourage her growth as an artist. Edith wharton biography born edith newbold jones, to a wealthy new york family, edith combined her insights into the privileged classes with her natural wit to write books and short fiction notable for their humor and incisiveness. When zeenas young cousin mattie arrives to help care for her, ethan is immediately taken by matties warm, vivacious personality.
The mount is a turnofthecentury home, designed and built by edith wharton in 1902. Here the main focus is on ethan s disagreeable wife, zenobia, from her unhappy childhood through her arrival at the dismal frome farm to her subsequent. Edith wharton 18621937 was an american novelistthe first woman to win a pulitzer prize for her novel the age of innocence in 1921as well as a short story writer, playwright, designer, reporter, and poet. The first edition of the novel was published in 1911, and was written by edith wharton. In one of american fictions finest and most intense narratives, edith wharton moves this illstarred trio toward their tragic destinies. Edith wharton ranks among the very greatest novelists and in ethan frome her creativity and craftsmanship are. Educated by tutors and governesses, she was raised for only one career. Whartons 1911 novel, ethan frome has become a staple of american literature and is widely studied in classrooms around the world. It is exquisitely written by an author with remarkable observation and imagination. Whartons ability to speak from within her characters, done so marvelously in house of mirth, for instance, is compact, concise, and heartrending in this one. The frame is the narrators vision of the tragedy that befalls ethan frome. Together they represent nearly a quarter century in the productive life of one of the most accomplished and admired of american writers. Frome and zeena marry after she nurses his mother in her last illness.
The rest of the book is about the events that follow these circumstances. Original and unabridged translate house classics by wharton, edith and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Edith wharton biography and list of works edith wharton books. Buy a cheap copy of ethan frome book by edith wharton. A povertystricken new england farmer, his ailing wife and a youthful housekeeper are. But her marriage, in 1885, to edward wharton was an emotional disappointment, if not a disaster. Different in both tone and theme from whartons other works, ethan frome has become perhaps her most enduring and most widely read novel.
We feature her work in our collection of world war i literature. Ethan frome 1911 a novel by edith wharton by edith. Tragic story of wasted lives, set against a bleak new england background. Probably the most famous of edith whartons novels, ethan frome contrasts sharply with her usual ironic contemplation of the fashionable new york society to which she herself belonged and whose strengths and weaknesses she understood so well.
Buy ethan frome wordsworth classics by edith wharton from amazons fiction books store. Ethan frome, a lonely and downtrodden farmer, lives alone with his sickly, judgmental wife zeena and her cousin mattie. Ethan frome is one of edith whartons most famous novels and rightly so. Wharton drew upon her insiders knowledge of the upper class new york aristocracy to realistically portray the lives and morals of the gilded age.
Born into a prosperous new york family, edith wharton 18621937 wrote more than 15 novels, including the age of innocence, the house of mirth, ethan frome, and other esteemed books. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Collected in this library of america volume are no fewer than six of the works of edith wharton. I think the ebook i purchased was translated from some language other than. Ethan frome 1911 a novel by edith wharton edith wharton on. It is set in the fictitious town of starkfield, massachusetts.
Edith wharton, born edith newbold jones, was a member of a distinguished new york family said. The main characters of this classics, fiction story are ethan frome, mrs. I have attached photos of 3 different pages i read ethan frome before, and i know this is not the way edith wharton wrote this book. The book includes a tipped in typed letter, signed by wharton, on the stationary of oeuvre des enfants des flanders to mr. Ethan frome set against the bleak winter landscape of new england, ethan frome tells the story of a poor farmer, lonely and downtrodden, his wife zeena, and her cousin, the enchanting mattie silver. She was distinguished for her work in the first world war and was the first woman to receive a doctorate of letters from yale university. Born into one of new yorks elite families, she drew upon her knowledge of upper class aristocracy to realistically portray the lives and morals of the gilded age. Along with close friend henry james, she helped define literature at the turn of the 20th century, even as she wrote classic nonfiction on travel, decorating and her own life. Ethan frome full audiobook by wharton by general, romance. The main character ethan frome, who is a farmer, falls for his wifes cousin, mattie. The frame story takes place nearly twenty years after the events of the main story and is written in first person, revealing the thoughts and feelings of the narrator.
Although frome seems ambitious and intelligent, zeena holds him back. Its less a recount of something that has happened than one of what might or could. Ethan frome cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. Ethan frome is a novel which extinguishes hope and blows away happiness but it is so powerful as an analysis of waste that it is nothing short of a masterpiece. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read ethan frome.
Set against a bleak new england background, the novel tells of frome, his ailing wife zeena and her companion mattie silver, superbly delineating the characters of each as they are drawn relentlessly into a deeprooted domestic struggle. Set in the highly symbolic wintry landscape of starkfield, massachusetts, the narrative centers on the title characters fraught relationships with his sickly, cantankerous wife zeena and his young, beautiful cousin mattie silver. One of americas most important novelists, edith wharton was a refined, relentless chronicler of the gilded age and its social mores. Get the best deals on edith wharton books when you shop the largest online selection at. With a twist of events he happens to fall in love with ellen olenska who has escaped from the misery of her own marriage. Ethan frome by edith wharton paperback novel literature 1987 144pages. In 1916, she was given frances highest honor, appointed chevalier of the legion of honour, for her contribution to the war effort. This short work is, in my view, one of the most powerful novels i have ever read. Whartons personal experiences, opinions, and passions influenced her writing. Whartons word choice and descriptions are vivid and real, and the reader is moved to pity the characters in their. Ethan frome is a challengingly bleak novel that slowly, quietly forces itself upon the unsuspecting readers psyche. Ethan frome edith wharton 1862 1937 edith whartons 1911 novel ethan fr. The novel was adapted into a film, ethan frome, in 1993.
Yet she set this book far away from paris in the same dark, rigid new england she used for ethan frome. Ethan frome is a 1911 book by american author edith wharton. In 1921, she was the first woman to win the pulitzer prize for literature. Ethan frome is a novella published in 1911 by the pulitzer prizewinning american author edith wharton. Edith wharton was born edith newbold jones on january 24, 1862, in new york city to george frederic jones and lucretia stevens rhinelander jones. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction.
It is set in the fictitious town of starkfield, massachusetts, new england, where an unnamed narrator tells the story of his encounter with ethan frome, a man with dreams and desires that end in an ironic turn of events. Edith wharton 18621937 ethan frome is a novel published in 1911 by the pulitzer prizewinning american author edith wharton. In such a place, she explored her most daring themea womans awakening to her sexual needs. The age of innocence, edith whartons 12th novel, which takes its title from a 1785 painting of a little girl by joshua reynolds, was first serialised in four parts during 1920 in the pictorial.