Today is the 72nd anniversary of the death of Edith Wharton, who died in Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt near Paris on August 11, 1937. Here at The Mount we try to celebrate the life of Mrs. Wharton every day, but today we thought it would be appropriate to commemorate her life and works here on The Mount's blog. And of course that means lots of links to Whartoniana of all sorts.
After Mrs. Wharton left The Mount she moved to Paris. She lived at two different addresses in the rue de Varenne. After the First World War she lived in St.-Brice, Pavillon Colombe. The street on which she lived is now named "rue Edith Wharton". She also lived part time in the south of France at Sainte-Claire du Château, Mrs. Wharton's home in the south of France which now belongs to the city of Hyères. These are all very nice places one is certain, but of course none can hold a candle to The Mount!
The perfect start to a search for all things Wharton is the Edith Wharton Society. It is comprised of Wharton scholars and enthusiasts who hold a wealth of knowledge and are happy to share it. Great repositories of online texts are here and here.
The Beinecke Library holds Edith Wharton's personal papers, manuscripts, letters and photographs and we have made free use of their online materials here at the blog many times and must once more express our thanks. Other primary sources for Wharton are the Lilly Library at Indiana University and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas (your blogger's alma mater). A brief compendium of quotations ends our linkathon for today.
We will end with a quotation of our own choosing from a letter Edith Wharton wrote in 1936 to her friend Mary Berenson: "I wish I knew what people mean when they say they find 'emptiness' in this wonderful adventure of living, which seems to me to pile up its glories like an horizon-wide sunset as the light declines."
