Edith Wharton

[Francois]

Im doing my annual reading of The Age of Innocence and the House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.

 

Just curious am I the only one happier with fiction that isn't contemporary than fiction that is?

[AdamSmith]

Yes! Thank you. I feel like a Philistine among friends who are up on all the latest fiction. I spent the last month rereading Henry James -- The Spoils of Poynton, "Washington Square," The Turn of the Screw, several other novellas and short stories. (Wharton's great friend! She had a special bedroom set aside for him at her home The Mount. Which as a Wharton lover you must visit sometime if you haven't.) Now screwing up my courage to finally go into The Ambassadors. If I am alive after that, maybe at last The Golden Bowl.

 

Meanwhile, though, taking a breather by romping once again through the oozy world of American horror doyen H.P. Lovecraft!

[Francois]

The mount has been on my visit list for ages. I love Washington Square.

 

All my friends are reading 50 shades of grey and here I am reading philosophy and authors that have long been dead.

If you like Wharton you should check out Emily Posts writings.

[+ Charlie]

I read very little contemporary fiction, because I prefer the classics from my time as a student of literature, fifty years ago. I am just now starting to read some of the authors who were contemporary then.

[Epigonos]

Francois, I readily agree with you regarding your preference for non-contemporary fiction. However, I must admit that Edith Wharton drives me crazy; all those pages of table setting description. Now, anybody who does enjoy her works might want to consider reading the 2007 biography "Edith Wharton" by Hermione Lee; it is quite good. The truth is that I'm not much of a fan of Gilded Age literature and that includes Henry James.

 

I am a total Jane Austen freak and always start a new year by re-reading "Pride and Prejudice". I enjoy everything about the early Regency Period including its literature, its art and its music. To a lesser degree I occasionally re-read one of the books of the Brontes. I find them a bit overheated but enjoy one now and then.

 

In reality I don’t read much fiction at all but rather stick to nonfiction. I am currently reading “Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel, A Nine-Hundred-Year-Old Story Retold” my John Guy, On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines – and Future” by Karen Elliott House and “Explorers of the Nile: The Triumph and Tragedy of a Great Victorian Adventure” by Tim Jeal

[operalover21]

For me, it's not an either/or situation. I read both. I spent one year reading the entire works of Henry James who is my favorite writer. But right now, I'm reading the latest novel -- Waiting for Sunrise -- from my friend Will Boyd. He's a great contemporary British writer who is quite prolific.

 

I think good fiction -- or writing in general -- is good writing and knows no year or boundaries. As much as I love the classics, I wouldn't want to miss out on so much good stuff being written in our own time. And non-fiction and biography has never been better than it is right now because of all the research sources that are available.