  About the Series
  About This Volume

PART ONE: THE HOUSE OF MIRTH: THE COMPLETE TEXT

  Introduction: Biographical and Historical Contexts

  The Complete Text [1905 Scribner's Edition]

PART TWO: THE HOUSE OF MIRTH: A CASE STUDY IN CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM

  A Critical History of The House of Mirth

  Cultural Criticism and The House of Mirth
    What Is Cultural Criticism?
    Cultual Criticism: A Selecterd Bibliography
    A Cultural Perspective:
       Lillian S. Robinson, The Traffic in Women: A Cultural Critique of The House of Mirth

  Marxist Criticism and The House of Mirth
    What Is Marxist Criticism?
    Marxist Criticism: A Selected Bibliography
    A Marxist Perspective:
       Wai-Chee Dimock, Debasing Exchange: Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth

  Feminist Criticism and The House of Mirth
    What Is Feminist Criticism?
    Feminist Criticism: A Selected Bibliography
    A Feminist Perspective:
       Frances L. Restuccia, The Name of the Lily: Edith Wharton's Feminism(s)

  Deconstruction and The House of Mirth
    What Is Deconstruction?
    Deconstruction: A Selected Bibliography
    A Deconstructionist Perspective:
       Margot Norris, Death by Speculation: Deconstructing The House of Mirth

  Psychoanalytic Criticism and The House of Mirth
    What Is Psychoanalytic Criticism?
    Psychoanalytic Criticism: A Selected Bibliography
    A Psychoanalytic Perspective:
       Ellie Ragland Sullivan, The Daughter's Dilemma: Psychoanalytic Interpretation and Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth

  Glossary of Critical and Theoretical Terms

  About the Contributors

Reviews

Wharton's account of the ill-fated life of Lily Bart receives a perfunctory treatment in this audio program. It is New York in the early 20th century; Lily loves Lawrence Selden, but he sees her as a fortune hunter, with tragic consequences. The author excels at delineating the ways money, romance, and social standing intertwine in the society of the time. Included is a lengthy introduction by Wharton biographer R.W.B. Lewis that sets the work in the context of the writer's life and career. Casual listeners may consider the preface too long and scholarly, and those coming to the novel for the first time may be put off by learning the outcome and by hearing Lewis's uncertainty about whether it is a masterpiece. Anna Fields handles the narration adequately but strains to create masculine voices and makes most of the women too flighty. As a result, the characters seem more trivial than Wharton intended. Not recommended. Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Actress Eleanor Bron played Aunt Julia in the 2000 film adaptation of this Edith Wharton classic, which she brings to life in an enjoyable audio production. At the start, Bron's tones are cool and measured in keeping with heroine Lily Bart's calculated manipulations in arranging her marriage to a fantastically rich-if fantastically dull-bachelor. But Lily's efforts meet with little success, and Bron ably captures the desperate heroine as her suitor rejects her, her debts mount, and her options narrow. As Lily finds herself alone in what used to seem like a glittering world, Bron's rendition of the character's exhausted disappointment is pitch-perfect. This is a compelling audiobook with a memorable performance from Bron. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Reviews