Kate’s 2¢: “Ethan Frome” by Edith Wharton

“Ethan Frome” by Edith Wharton

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I’ve often heard people refer to this book, but I don’t remember ever reading it, so, I’ve remedied that situation.

   John MacDonald did a good job of narrating this classic story about Ethan Frome and why he became such a recluse and intriguing figure in the neighborhood. I enjoyed this story and am amazed at Wharton’s background.

From Wikipedia:

Edith Newbold Wharton (/ˈhwɔːrtən/; née Jones; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) 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 for Fiction for her novel, The Age of Innocence. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1996.[1] Her other well-known works are The House of Mirth, the novella Ethan Frome, and several notable ghost stories.

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

File:Edward_Harrison_May_-_Edi…

Portrait of Wharton as a child by Edward Harrison May (1870)

Edith Newbold Jones was born on January 24, 1862, to George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander, at their brownstone at 14 West Twenty-third Street in New York City.[2][3] To her friends and family, she was known as “Pussy Jones”.[4] She had two elder brothers, Frederic Rhinelander and Henry Edward.[2] Frederic married Mary Cadwalader Rawle; their daughter was landscape architect Beatrix Farrand. Edith was baptized April 20, 1862, Easter Sunday, at Grace Church.[2]

Wharton’s paternal family, the Joneses, were a very wealthy and socially prominent family, having made their money in real estate.[5] The saying “keeping up with the Joneses” is said to refer to her father’s family.[6][7] She was related to the Rensselaers, the most prestigious of the old patroon families, who had received land grants from the former Dutch government of New York and New Jersey. Her father’s first cousin was Caroline Schermerhorn Astor.[8] Fort Stevens, in New York, was named for Wharton’s maternal great-grandfather, Ebenezer Stevens, a Revolutionary War hero and general.[9]

Wharton was born during the Civil War. However, in describing her family life, Wharton does not mention the war, except that their travels to Europe after the war were due to the depreciation of American currency.[2][10] From 1866 to 1872, the Jones family visited France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.[11] During her travels, the young Edith became fluent in French, German, and Italian. At the age of nine, she suffered from typhoid fever, which nearly killed her, while the family was at a spa in the Black Forest.[2] After the family returned to the United States in 1872, they spent their winters in New York City and their summers in Newport, Rhode Island.[11] While in Europe, she was educated by tutors and governesses. She rejected the standards of fashion and etiquette that were expected of young girls at the time, which were intended to allow women to marry well and to be put on display at balls and parties. She considered these fashions superficial and oppressive. Edith wanted more education than she received, so, she read from her father’s library and from the libraries of her father’s friends.[12] Her mother forbade her to read novels until she was married, and Edith obeyed this command.[13]

Early writing[edit]

File:Edith_Wharton_by_Edward_H…

Edith Wharton by Edward Harrison May

Wharton wrote and told stories from an early age.[14] When her family moved to Europe and she was just four or five, she started what she called “making up.”[14] She invented stories for her family and walked with an open book, turning the pages as if reading while improvising a story.[14] Wharton began writing poetry and fiction as a young girl, and she attempted to write her first novel at the age of 11.[15] Her mother’s criticism quashed her ambition, however, and she turned to poetry.[15] She was 15 years old when her first published work appeared, a translation of a German poem “Was die Steine Erzählen” (“What the Stones Tell”) by Heinrich Karl Brugsch, for which she was paid $50. Her family did not want her name to appear in print, since writing was not considered a proper occupation for a society woman of her time. Consequently, the poem was published under the name of a friend’s father, E. A. Washburn, a cousin of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who supported women’s education.[16] In 1877, at the age of 15, she secretly wrote a novella, Fast and Loose. In 1878, her father arranged for a collection of two dozen original poems and five translations, Verses, to be privately published.[17] Wharton published a poem under a pseudonym in the New York World, in 1879.[18] In 1880, she had five poems published anonymously in the Atlantic Monthly, an important literary magazine.[19] Despite these early successes, she was not encouraged by her family or her social circle, and though she continued to write, she did not publish anything more until her poem “The Last Giustiniani” was published in Scribner’s Magazine in October 1889.[20]

The “debutante” years[edit]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Ethan Frome DB17455

Wharton, Edith. Reading time: 3 hours, 20 minutes.

Read by John MacDonald.

Classics

A tale of retribution about a discouraged New England farmer and his hypochondriac wife. Their empty lives are suddenly changed when her cousin, a young girl who still finds joy in life, comes to live with them.

Downloaded: November 4, 2024

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Kate’s 2¢: “Lone Bull’s horse raid” by Dorothy and Paul Goble

“Lone Bull’s horse raid” by Dorothy and Paul Goble

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

  Bruce Huntey did a good job of narrating this story. Prior to the story, there is a lengthy description of the culture that made this story important. It seems like in every culture, the children who disobey their parents, end up smelling like roses!

   The information I found on the authors listed  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, didn’t sound like writers, but rather like Politicians.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Lone Bull’s horse raid DB22252

Goble, Paul; Goble, Dorothy. Reading time: 42 minutes.

Read by Bruce Huntey.

Historical Fiction

Adventure

Lone Bull, a young Oglala Sioux warrior-in-training, describes his first horse raid. He tells how he and his best friend, Charging Bear, join a party of warriors as they set out to raid the neighboring Crow Indians. Lone Bull’s account explains the significance and excitement of the raid and the fierce competition among the warriors for personal glory. 1973.

Downloaded: November 4, 2024

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Kate’s 2¢: “The Best of Friends” by Lucinda Berry

“The Best of Friends” by Lucinda Berry

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Jill Fox did a good job of narrating this emotionally charged sory. I enjoyed the suspense, even though, I did suspect the out-come.

From the web:

USA Today bestselling author, Dr. Lucinda Berry, is a former psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. With millions of books worldwide, she’s written multiple bestsellers including The Perfect Child, Saving Noah, and Keep Your Friends Close.

Now, she spends her days writing full-time where she uses her clinical experience to blur the line between fiction and nonfiction.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The best of friends DB105399

Berry, Lucinda. Reading time: 8 hours, 36 minutes.

Read by Jill Fox.

Suspense Fiction

Psychological Fiction

Best friends Lindsey, Kendra, and Dani face tragedy when their teen sons are in a tragic accident. One dies, one is in a coma, and the third is too traumatized to speak. As the investigation into the accident digs deeper, secrets begin to surface. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2020.

Downloaded: October 6, 2024

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