Roman Fever and Other Stories [Paperback]

Edith Wharton (Author), Cynthia Griffin Wolff (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 1997

A side from her Pulitzer Prize-winning talent as a novel writer, Edith Wharton also distinguished herself as a short story writer, publishing more than seventy-two stories in ten volumes during her lifetime. The best of her short fiction is collected here in Roman Fever and Other Stories. From her picture of erotic love and illegitimacy in the title story to her exploration of the aftermath of divorce detailed in "Souls Belated" and "The Last Asset," Wharton shows her usual skill "in dissecting the elements of emotional subtleties, moral ambiguities, and the implications of social restrictions," as Cynthia Griffin Wolff writes in her introduction. Roman Fever and Other Stories is a surprisingly contemporary volume of stories by one of our most enduring writers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The stories in this volume 'tear the gauze' of polite deceit into shreds, by showing the weight of such a shroud, and revealign what exists beneath . . . Not just social commentaries but penetrating moral analyses' - Marilyn French 'The stories have a lightness of touch and a narrative neatness that demonstrate what a professional she was' - Penelope Lively --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

America's most famous woman of letters, and the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, Edith Wharton was born into one of the last "leisured class" families in New York City, as she put it, in 1862. Educated privately, she was married to Edward Wharton in 1885, and for the next few years, they spent their time in the high society of Newport (Rhode Island), then Lenox (Massachusetts) and Europe. It was in Europe that Wharton first met Henry James, who was to have a profound and lasting influence on her life and work. Wharton's first published book was a work of nonfiction, in collaboration with Ogden Codman, The Decoration of Houses (1897), but from early on, her marriage had been a source of distress, and she was advised by her doctor to write fiction to relieve her nervous tension. Wharton's first short stories appeared in Scribner's Magazine, and though she published several volumes of fiction around the turn of the century, including The Greater Inclination (1899), The Touchstone (1900), Crucial Instances (1901), The Valley of Decision (1902), Sanctuary (1903), and The Descent of Man and Other Stories (1904), it wasn't until 1905, with the publication of the bestselling The House of Mirth, that she was recognized as one of the most important novelists of her time for her keen social insight and subtle sense of satire. In 1906, Wharton visited Paris, which inspired Madame de Treymes (1907), and made her home there in 1907, finally divorcing her husband in 1912. The years before the outbreak of World War I represent the core of her artistic achievement, when Ethan Frome (1911), The Reef (1912), and The Custom of the Country (1913) were published. During the war, she remained in France organizing relief for Belgian refugees, for which she was later awarded the Legion of Honor. She also wrote two novels about the war, The Marne (1918) and A Son at the Front (1923), and continued, in France, to write about New England and the Newport society she had known so well in Summer (1917), the companion to Ethan Frome, and The Age of Innocence (1920), for which she won the Pulitzer Prize. Wharton died in France in 1937. Her other works include Old New York (1924), The Mother's Recompense (1925), The Writing of Fiction (1925), The Children (1928), Hudson River Bracketed (1929), and her autobiography, A Backward Glance (1934).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (June 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684829908
• ISBN-13: 978-0684829906
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Classics

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wharton subtletly uses setting as symbolism, June 28, 2000

By 

"sharkalissa" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roman Fever and Other Stories (Paperback)

I had to read "Roman Fever" for an english class, and it was a very good story! The author describes the scenery & events around the characters, which makes it richer, but when you go back to analyze it, you realize that he setting & buildings & even other people in it are actually being used as foreshadowing symbolism. It's very well-written and multi-layered.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A startling good story -- lots of atmosphere and wonderfully twisty at the end, May 27, 2010

By 

Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roman Fever (Kindle Edition)

This tale was first published in "Liberty" in 1934 and was later included in Whaton's last collection of short stories, The world over.

This story is well worth searching out for, read on one level, it evokes a wonderful sense one of the greatest vistas in the world where many centuries of culture are on view. My wife and I have spent many hours on the Palantine Hill, observing and dreaming about the rich cultural history of Rome.

Wharton also brings to life the two main characters, their family relationships and lives in New York City, and especially the importance of their daughters in their own lives.

Finally, the great portion of the story dealing with the public and private histories described are merely prelude for a wonderfully satisfying series of unexpected plot twists.

The story has also been analyzed on a much deeper level by Dale M. Bauer in 1988 in "Edith Wharton, 'Roman Fever', Rune of History": one of many points includes:

""Since the entirety of the story plays itself out against the backdrop of `the great accumulated wreckage of passion and splendor' in Rome, I am suggesting that Wharton means to put into some relation of the fortunes of civilization and the fortunes of these two families, the Slades and the Ansleys. The story insists, first of all, that our own myth of origins -- from which we get all our founding or inaugurating force, our authority -- is inherently arbitrary ... Wharton's fiction, therefore participates in a kind of demystification (destructive) process; both women believe their own inaugural myths about their daughters.... Both are wrong about the order of things, and Wharton uncovers a profound emptiness at the heart of history since chance seems to rule."

Whether read as a well written tale of love and rage, or more deeply analyzed as a "Rune of History", there is much to reward any reader who loves great English literature.

Robert C. Ross 2010

Note: I read this story to my wife, and to do so most effectively, this is a story which the reader should skim through before declaiming. The listener's enjoyment will be greatly enhanced by delicate emphasis at various points in the discussion of family relationships, particularly the relationships of the two women with their daughters.

And, we were both struck with our memories of Henry James's Daisy Miller: "Well, I have seen the Colosseum by moonlight!" Wharton echoes James in a very effective way, and proves that life as well as death can follow a visit to the great monument. B.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, October 17, 2009

By 

YA book lover - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Roman Fever and Other Stories (Paperback)

There is nothing much you can say about a classic. A classic is a classic for a reason. Edith Wharton is undeniably one of the best American writers and this book of short stories is another proof of it. It is a mark of a true talent to be able in a matter of 20-25 pages to reveal both deep nature of characters and expose society follies. Each story is a masterpiece which leaves you with a deeper understanding of suffocating restrictions of 19th century America and complexities of human nature. This book is a must read for anyone who appreciates quality literature.