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The Spark (The 'Sixties)

By Edith Wharton
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About This Book

A first-person observer returns to his city and becomes preoccupied with Hayley Delane, an imposing society man whose impulsive courtship and marriage to a younger wife seem to have left him drifting through card-tables, hunts, and social rituals. Through scenes in drawing-rooms and at poker the narrator teases out contrasts between outward gaiety and private inertia, suggesting dormant talents, regrets, and the pressures of marital and class expectations. The piece sketches social manners, generational differences, and the narrator’s growing curiosity about the deeper character concealed beneath manners and habit.

About the Author

Wharton, Edith portrait

Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer, known for her keen observations of the American upper class and her exploration of social mores. Her most celebrated work, "The Age of Innocence," won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921 and reflects her critical perspective on the constraints of society. Wharton's literary contributions extend to various genres, including novels, poetry, and travel writing, with notable titles such as "Ethan Frome" and "A Motor-Flight Through France." Throughout her career, she adeptly navigated themes of love, betrayal, and the complexities of human relationships, establishing her as a significant figure in American literature.

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