"The Touchstone" by Edith Wharton is a story where Glennard wrestles with ambition, regret, and love in high society. Glennard is caught between his past relationship with Margaret, a famous writer who deeply loved him, and his present desire for Alexa. He faces a moral test when he considers publishing Margaret's personal letters after she passes away, struggling with his feelings for two very different women. The beginning of the novel shows Glennard reflecting on his life and past mistakes at a club. He thinks about his complicated connection with Margaret and the letters he has but isn't sure he should share. As Glennard deals with guilt and the expectations of society, the story creates an atmosphere filled with superficial relationships and the search for love and success. The novel explores the complexities of human connections and moral decisions.
The Touchstone
By Edith Wharton
Torn between a lost love's secrets and a new love's promise, a man must decide if ambition is worth betraying the past.
Summary
About the AuthorEdith Newbold Wharton was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gilded Age. In 1921, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, for her novel, The Age of Innocence. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, in 1996. Her other well-known works are The House of Mirth, the novella Ethan Frome, and several notable ghost stories.
Edith Newbold Wharton was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gilded Age. In 1921, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, for her novel, The Age of Innocence. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, in 1996. Her other well-known works are The House of Mirth, the novella Ethan Frome, and several notable ghost stories.
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