'… the best of these essays point toward a rejuvenation of the old in ways that allow Wharton fans to gain a deeper understanding of this complex and often misunderstood woman and artist.' S. Batcos, Choice
1. Introduction Jennifer Haytock and Laura Rattray; Part I. Self and Composition: 2. Creative process and literary form in Edith Wharton's archive Paul Ohler; 3. Wharton's letters: glimpses of the whole Edith Wharton Julie Olin-Ammentorp; 4. Edith Wharton and the business of the magazine short story Sarah Whitehead; Part II. International Wharton: 5. Edith Wharton's odyssey Myrto Drizou; 6. Edith Wharton's French engagement Virginia Ricard; 7. Edith Wharton and transnationalism Donna Campbell; Part III. Wharton on the Margins: 8. Edith Wharton's unprivileged lives Laura Rattray; 9. Wharton, insurance culture, and pain management Jennifer Travis; 10. Edith Wharton's humanimal pity Shannon Brennan; 11. Edith Wharton and the writing of whiteness Jennifer Haytock; Part IV. Sex and Gender Revisited: 12. Women, art, and the natural world in Edith Wharton's works Gary Totten; 13. Wharton and the romance plot Linda Wagner-Martin; 14. Masculine modernity: fathers, sons, and generational absolution in Wharton's fiction Melanie Dawson; 15. Wharton's wayward girls Meredith Goldsmith.