A Gift From The Grave By Edith Wharton

Author : Edith Wharton
Publisher : CreateSpace
ISBN 13 : 9781496033246
Total Pages : 78 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (332 download)

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Download or read book The Touchstone written by Edith Wharton and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-02-23 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Touchstone" is Edith Wharton's second book and it was published in 1900. It was also published under the title "A Gift From The Grave". Her previous literary effort was a collection of short stories titled "The Greater Inclination" and this is a longer story, roughly what we would today call a novella. The author takes an interesting premise, and creates an engaging story which is easy to read and flows quickly. The reader doesn't want to put this book down. The premise of the story is that a man (Glennard) of limited means is looking for a way to earn money so that he can afford to marry the woman he loves (Alexa Trent). Earlier in his life, he was loved by Mrs. Aubyn, who has become a famous author and since died. Thus he is in possession of the letters she wrote him, and due to her fame he could publish them, but that would not be proper in his mind, and he feels that he would not be worthy of Alexa Trent if he did such a thing. Of course, the reader immediately knows that he is going to have to do this unthinkable thing, and the interesting part of the story is how it affects Glennard and his relationship with Alexa Trent, and with Flemel, the friend from whom he seeks the advice initially, and who helps him get the letters published. Glennard destroys one relationship, and nearly destroys the other, and often lashes out irrationally when the book is discussed. He is constantly trying to figure out who knows, and who Flemel might have told, and if his wife has figured it out, even when he tries to make it obvious that he has done the deed. It is an interesting story about the turmoil which people go through when circumstances force them to act in a way which they wouldn't ordinarily do. Many people today might not understand why Glennard is even troubled by the idea of publishing the correspondence of someone who has passed on, but it certainly works well for the period in which it was written.