书目

Edith Wharton

内容简介

Thename'EdithWharton'conjuresup'GildedAge'NewYork,inallitssnobberyandruthlessness-theworldofTheAgeofInnocenceandTheHouseofMirth.ButthisdefinitivebiographybyHermioneLeeoverturnsthestereotype.ThisEdithWhartonisnotthegenteel,nostalgicchroniclerofavanishedagebutafiercelymodernwoman,writingofsexandincest,loveandwar-awomanofpassionateconvictionandconflictingambitionsanddesires.Bornin1862duringtheCivilWar,Whartonbrokeawayfromherwealthybackground.ShetravelledadventurouslyinEurope,eventuallysettlinginParis:duringtheFirstWorldWarshecommittedherselftowar-work,andlivedinFrance,her'secondcountry'untilherdeathin1937.ShecreatedfabuloushomesinNewEnglandandinFrance,andherlifewasfilledwithremarkablefriends,includingHenryJames,BernardBerenson,AldousHuxleyandKennethClark.Sheranherprofessionallifewithfierceenergy,butshealsohadhersecrets,includingapassionatemid-lifelove-affair,recordedinacodeddiary.Shewasunhappilymarried,childless,anddivorced,andknewlonelinessandanguish.Herbrilliant,disturbingfictionshowsherdeepunderstandingofthelongingandstruggleinwomen'slives.ThismasterlynewbiographydrawsonnewmaterialanddelvesintoeveryaspectofWharton'sextraordinarylife-story.ItshiftstheemphasistowardsEurope,placingherinhersocialcontextandherhistory.Inparticular,itshowsinfascinatingdetailhowsheworkedandwhatliesattheheartofhermagnificentandsubtlebooks.

作者简介

HermioneLee'spreviousbooksincludetheinternationallyacclaimedbiographyVirginiaWoolf,acollectionofessaysonlife-writing,BodyParts,andastudyofElizabethBowen.ShehaswrittenonmanyAmericanauthors,fromWillaCathertoPhilipRoth.Sheisawell-knownreviewerandbroadcaster,and,in2006,ChairofthejudgesfortheMan-BookerPrize.SheisthefirstwomanGoldsmiths'ProfessorofEnglishatOxfordUniversity,aFellowofNewCollegeOxford,oftheBritishAcademyandoftheRoyalSocietyofLiterature.ShewasawardedaCBEin2003forservicestoliterature.

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