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Edith Wharton Manuscripts
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Edith Wharton was an American novelist, short story writer, and landscape designer. In 1901 she built "The Mount," her estate in Lenox, Massachusetts, and primary residence till 1911. When her marriage deteriorated, Wharton decided to move permanently to France, living at 58 Rue de Varenne, Paris. In 1912 she published her best-known work, Ethan Frome. Throughout World War I she championed charitable efforts for refugees and, in 1916, was named a Chevalier of the "Legion of Honor" in recognition of her commitment to the displaced. After the war Wharton divided her time between Paris and Hyères, in Provence, where she finished her book The Age of Innocence in 1920 (winner 1921 Pulitzer Prize for literature.) In 1927 she purchased a villa on the site of a seventheenth-century convent in the hills above the city of Hyères in Provence, where she lived during the winters and springs. She called the villa "Sainte-Claire du Chateau" and filled the garden with cactus and subtropical plants. She returned to the United States only once after the war to receive an honorary doctorate degree from Yale University in 1923. Wharton spoke flawless French, and many of her books were published in both French and English. She was friend and confidante to many intellectuals of her time such as Jean Cocteau, André Gide, Henry James, and Sinclair Lewis.
Alfred Austin was an English poet, who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1896 upon the death of Tennyson. Among his works are Pacchiarotto, Prince Lucifer, and The Human Tragedy (1862). His autobiography was published in 1911.
The collection contains corrected typescripts for installments of three Wharton novels ( Sanctuary, The Custom of the Country, and A Son at the Front) which were serialized in Scribner's Magazine and corrected typescripts for background and prefatory material for two other novels ( Ethan Frome and House of Mirth). The collection also contains corrected typescripts for several non-fiction articles, including "In Alsace" (1915), "Note on Moroccan Architecture" (1920?), "Marcel Proust" (1925), and "The Writing of Fiction" (1925), as well as an autograph manuscript of "George Cabot Lodge" (1917), a Scribner's article.
Organized in one series:
Gift of William R. Tyler in 1971 (AM 20561)
A detailed folder listing is available.
No appraisal information is available.
People
Subject
- Architecture, Islamic -- Morocco
- Fiction -- Technique
- Serialized fiction -- United States -- 20th century
Place
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2008
- Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to RBSC Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.
Collection Inventory
Consists of manuscripts for works such as Sanctuary, Custom of the Country, and Writing of Fiction, as well as others.
The manuscripts are arranged chronologically by date.
Physical Description1 box
novel
Physical Description1 box
pp.1-40, TMsS, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
pp. 41-58, TMsS, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
pp. 41-58, TMsS, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
pp. 86-107 TMsS with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
novel, Synopsis, beginning at Ch.4, TMs, with corrections, 6 pp.
Physical Description1 folder
article, pp. 1-19, AMsS
Physical Description2 folders
novel
Physical Description1 box
pp. 451-468, TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
pp. 469-483, TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
article, 16 pp., TMsS, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
nonfiction [ In Morocco], TMs, with corrections, 10 pp.
Physical Description1 folder
Includes 3 pages of the Introduction; typescript and duplicate carbon copy
Physical Description1 folder
novel
Physical Description1 box
pp. 203-222, TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
pp. 223-241, TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
pp. 242-258, TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
pp. 259-277, TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
pp. 278-302, TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
pp. 303-319, TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
pp. 307-319, 13 pp., TMs, with corrections, fragments
Physical Description1 folder
nonfiction
Physical Description1 box
18 pp., TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
19 pp., TMsS, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
16 pp., TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
1 box
38 pp., TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
39 pp., TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
12 pp., TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
article
Physical Description1 box
16 pp., TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
17 pp., TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder
article, 14 pp., TMs, with corrections
Physical Description1 folder