Edith Wharton And Cosmopolitanism [Hardcover]

These energizing, excellent essays address the international scope of Whartons writing and contribute to the growing fields of transatlantic, hemispheric, and global studies.Carol J. Singley, author of A Historical Guide to Edith Wharton
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Readers will emerge with a new respect for Whartons engagement with the world around her and for her ability to convey her particular vision in her literary works.Julie Olin-Ammentorp, author of Edith Whartons Writings from the Great War
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Hailed for her remarkable social and psychological insights into the Gilded Age lives of privileged Americans, Edith Wharton, the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize, was a transnational author who attempted to understand and appreciate the culture, history, and artifacts of the regions she encountered in her extensive travels abroad. Edith Wharton and Cosmopolitanism explores the international scope of Whartons life and writing, focusing on how her work connects with the idea of cosmopolitanism.

This volume illustrates the many ways Wharton engaged with global issues of her time. Contributors examine both her canonical and lesser-known works, including her art historical discoveries, political work, travel writing, World War I texts, and first novel. They consider themes of anarchism, race, imperialism, regionalism, and orientalism; Whartons treatment of contemporary marriage debates; her indebtedness to her literary predecessors; and her genre experimentation. Together, they demonstrate how Whartons struggle to balance her powerful local and national identifications with cosmopolitan values, resulted in a diverse, complex, and sometimes problematic relationship to a cosmopolitan vision.
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