- Hardcover
- Publisher: Ams Pr Inc (June 1969)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0404019684
- ISBN-13: 978-0404019686
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"'Every line is a joy.' - The Guardian"
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
An early and remarkable chronicle by Edith Wharton, The Touchstone is a story of money and moral compromise that foreshadows some of the best novels of her career.
Stephen Glennard is a poor lawyer in the glamorous and money-driven society of New York. He has one valuable possession though: the letters written to him by the famous and now deceased author Margaret Aubyn. Although he has rarely read the letters, they become invaluable to him when he learns that their worth will pave his future and pay for his marriage to the beautiful Alexa Trent. What he neglects to realize is that Aubyn's ghost, once unleashed upon the reading public, will exercise an influence over his own life, reducing all his hopes and pleasures to ashes. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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First Sentence
Professor Joslin, who, as our readers are doubtless aware, is engaged in writing the life of Mrs. Aubyn, asks us to state that he will be greatly indebted to any of the famous novelist's friends who will furnish him with information concerning the period previous to her coming to England. Read the first page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Professor Joslin, who, as our readers are doubtless aware, is engaged in writing the life of Mrs. Aubyn, asks us to state that he will be greatly indebted to any of the famous novelist's friends who will furnish him with information concerning the period previous to her coming to England. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quick And Enjoyable,
By
This review is from: The Touchstone (Paperback)
"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. This is even better than her first book, though I don't think it merits five stars.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 8 of 11 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly Contemporary - 100 years ahead of its time,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Touchstone (Hardcover)
Because I am adapting this novella for Warner Bros as a feature film, I'm interested in hearing what readers have to say about it. This is Wharton's first novella, written at a time when she was still developing her craft as a writer; the story can appear woefully underwritten. Still, the story is mesmerizing and dangerous, a Faustian tale of betrayal, greed and the consequences paid, and the more often I read through it, the more hidden meanings emerge. When you read it, think of the lover who sold Princess Diana's first secrets of their affair to the tabloids, and the consequences since. What ever happened to that man? Perhaps, like Stephen Glennard in "The Touchstone", he has gone mad from guilt, which, ironically enough, might prove he has a conscious after all.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Question: is this the same book as Ethan Frome?,
By Jeanette Broekhuis "bookie" - Published on Amazon.com
Just a question: is this the same book as Ethan Frome? (The picture shown is a cover of Ethan Frome.
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