Whartonians are all familiar with Beatrix Farrand, one of America's foremost landscape gardeners and Mrs. Wharton's niece, the only one that we knew about, anyway. This article by Maureen Dowd in the New York Times, indicates that there may have been a rather less reputable "niece" out and about in New York. The article also posits some interesting ideas on how to bring journalism in its printed form back to the forefront of the media. This hearkens back to our recent panel on Food Writing here at The Mount, and the very interesting timing of the closure of Gourmet Magazine shortly after.
Ms. Dowd's gambling idea has some promise, but one does balk at the new Conde Nast dating website which purports to “unite glamorous girls with fashion-conscious GQ-reading boys to create matches made in style heaven.” However, anything that promotes and assists the written (and printed) word is something that The Mount will support. Perhaps a site for like-minded Wharton "nieces" and "nephews" might be the way forward ...
(The photo above is by E.J. Bellocq and was taken in the infamous Storyville district of New Orleans sometime in the early 20th c.)
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