Copy of "Les Metteurs En Scene" in French

i am seeking a copy of Les Metteurs En Scene in the original french -- is it currently published/in print/available in the USA?
corinnamay@mybluelight.com 5/6/05

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5/6/05

Access to Wharton's copies of Jane Austen

I am working on a lengthy article on Edith Wharton's unique contribution to the genre of the novel of manners, as originally popularized in England at the beginning of the 19th century by Jane Austen.  In "Edith Wharton's Library" (Stone Trough Books, 1999), George Ramsden writes that the Beinecke Rare Book Library at Yale University possesses a first edition of Austen's 1813 work "Pride and Prejudice" that belonged to Wharton.  If such a work exists (whether or not it is a first edition) and contains what can be assumed to be Wharton's own markings of certain passages, this would be immeasurably useful to me.  However, the librarians at Yale tell me that they have no such work in their collection.  Does anyone have any information pertaining to the whereabouts and/or existence of this text?  Also, does anyone know how I might be able to get in touch with George Ramsden to ask him about this?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jennie Hann 4/28/05

I have a couple of questions about the, to my knowledge, only two short stories that Edith Wharton wrote in French (in 1908): Les Metteurs en scène and Lettres à L'ami francais. I know the first has been translated to English (by whom? Wharton herself?), but what about Lettres à L'ami francais, what is its title in English? The plot of her short story "The Letters" does not seem to fit well enough with the French title(The Letters to the French Friend, or something like it), and I cannot match any of her short stories to the French title. I'm sure it has been translated, the question is what title has the short story been given in English?
My next question is: In a review of the reprint of the above short stories in French (2001)by Philippe Romanski, in Cercles Revue pluridisciplinaire de monde anglophone, it is said that Les Metteurs en scène was published in 1908 in La Revue des deux mondes, and that in this magazine, at the same time, other texts were being published, much in the same style, or by other Americans in French(I am not sure which). It is also said that Henry James critisized her short story severely. She never again wrote in French. Does any one know what other texts are referred to, or what writers are referred to?

I am most thankful for any help sorting out my questions.

Regards,
Maria Strääf, Sweden.marst@isk.liu.se

3/27/05

I believe an English translation of "Les Metteurs en scene" appears in the two-volume collection of Wharton's short stories, ed. R.W.B. Lewis (Scribner's, 1968).

Fred Wegener ( fwegener@csulb.edu )
4/28/05

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This is an answer about the stories that Wharton wrote in French.
Les Metteurs en scène is the only story that she wrote in French. I don't know if it has been translated; its two main characters are Le Fanois and Miss Lambart. Contrary to what Henry James pretended at the time it was published, it is an excellent story.

Lettres à l'ami français is not a short story, it is a collection of the letters that Wharton wrote between 1908 and 1930 to her friend Lucien Bélugou. It is a very interesting book, because ih has excellent comments by Claudine Lesage, a French Wharton specialist, and because Bélugou was a very good friend of both Wharton and Fullerton at the time of their love affair. The letters are written in French and they show how fluent Wharton's French was. This little book should really be in every university library, because it tells a lot about Wharton herself. I don't think that it has been translated. I am writing a master's thesis about the French translations of Wharton's novels, and this gave me the opportunity to correspond with Madame Lesage. If you want to know more about Lettres à l'ami français, send me an e-mail, and I will give you her e-mail adress.

Véronique Hugel bounespams-anglais@yahoo.fr

3/28/05

First Editions of Wharton's Books

QUESTION: I've been looking for a first edition, first issue of "Ethan Frome." I found a few listed on websites and they all refer to the word "wearily" on page 135. Apparently, that word was printed differently on the first issue than the others, but I haven't been able to find an explanation on the difference. I would appreciate your explanation. Also, in general is there a way to differenciate the first issues of the first editions from the other issues of Wharton's books? Thanks.

Carolina 1/1/05

According to Sumner and Stillman Antiquarian Booksellars, "Of the 6000 copies in the first printing [of Ethan Frome ], 2500 were issued with a gilt top edge and 3500 with a plain top edge; 'wearily' became battered during the first printing run.)" I own a plain top edge first edition of Ethan Frome in which part of the "w" and part of the "e" in the word "wearily" on page 135 are missing. Evidently the books in which "wearily" is printed perfectly are more valuable. I like to think my copy is more valuable for the happy accident that "wearily" is the word that was "battered" during the printing process, especially given the fate of the novel's title character.

Dan Hefko, Ball State University 1/4/05

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You might try Stephen Garrison's Edith Wharton: A Descriptive Bibliography (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1990). Descriptive bibliographies generally include information on the appearance of first editions.

Also, there are books that describe the current values of first editions; I don't know know a specific title, but perhaps some readers of this space who collect books can provide suggestions. Such a book could explain the "wearily" distinction often mentioned in descriptions of first editions of Ethan Frome.

Here are some places to start answering these questions:

American Book Prices Current (site that sells CD of current book prices)
The frequently asked questions page of the Antique and Rare Books division of the American Library Association has a list of helpful books.
The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association has helpful information and links.

D. Campbell, 1/1/05