The mystery of how a wealthy New York socialite became a major American novelist is brilliantly explored in this fascinating critical biography, widely considered to be the most perceptive introduction to Edith Wharton's life and work. This new edition includes two chapters: one on Lily Bart and the lethal stereotypes of women on the nineteenth-century stage, and another on the way Wharton's own sensual awakening led from the frozen austerity of Ethan...

Robert Coles first met Dorothy Day when he worked in one of her Catholic worker soup kitchens. He remained close to this inspiring and controversial woman until her death in 1980. His book confronts candidly the central puzzles of her life.