The Touchstone [Hardcover]

Edith Wharton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0554509423 | ISBN-13: 978-0554509426

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I wanted them all, even those I'd already read."
—Ron Rosenbaum, The New York Observer

"Small wonders."
—Time Out London

"[F]irst-rate…astutely selected and attractively packaged…indisputably great works."
—Adam Begley, The New York Observer

"I’ve always been haunted by Bartleby, the proto-slacker. But it’s the handsomely minimalist cover of the Melville House edition that gets me here, one of many in the small publisher’s fine 'Art of the Novella' series."
—The New Yorker

"The Art of the Novella series is sort of an anti-Kindle. What these singular, distinctive titles celebrate is book-ness. They're slim enough to be portable but showy enough to be conspicuously consumed—tiny little objects that demand to be loved for the commodities they are."
—KQED (NPR San Francisco)

"Some like it short, and if you're one of them, Melville House, an independent publisher based in Brooklyn, has a line of books for you... elegant-looking paperback editions ...a good read in a small package."
—The Wall Street Journal --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Edith Wharton was born Edith Newbold Jones in 1862 in New York City, into a socially prominent family whose wealth came from real estate holdings. She was discouraged from an interest in writing by her mother, who forbid her reading contemporary literature. but in 1878, a family friend passed along some of her poems to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who championed them for publication. She went on to maintain an unusual degree of independence despite marrying Edward Wharton, whom she divorced 30 years later. In 1921, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize (for her novel The Age of Innocence). Wharton died in France in 1937. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 164 pages
• Publisher: BiblioLife (August 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0554509423
• ISBN-13: 978-0554509426
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Contemporary - 100 years ahead of its time, September 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Touchstone (Hardcover)

Because I am adapting this novella for Warner Bros as a feature film, I'm interested in hearing what readers have to say about it. This is Wharton's first novella, written at a time when she was still developing her craft as a writer; the story can appear woefully underwritten. Still, the story is mesmerizing and dangerous, a Faustian tale of betrayal, greed and the consequences paid, and the more often I read through it, the more hidden meanings emerge. When you read it, think of the lover who sold Princess Diana's first secrets of their affair to the tabloids, and the consequences since. What ever happened to that man? Perhaps, like Stephen Glennard in "The Touchstone", he has gone mad from guilt, which, ironically enough, might prove he has a conscious after all.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Question: is this the same book as Ethan Frome?, January 21, 2010

By 

Jeanette Broekhuis "bookie" (Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Touchstone (Kindle Edition)

Just a question: is this the same book as Ethan Frome? (The picture shown is a cover of Ethan Frome.