It feels RIDICULOUS to be discovering Edith Wharton for the first time as a full-grown woman - I can't go around recommending her because everyone has read her already. But there's something Edith Wharton-y about being a woman who makes an important discovery when she is tragically too old for it to matter, so it feels appropriate.

I like Edith Wharton and her short stories are interesting, but let's be honest. She loves a depressing ending. And I don't.

Roman Fever 1-31-2021
Two childhood friends grow up together really not knowing each other that well for friends. Now they are wealthy widows and Mrs Slade and Mrs Ansley spend some time together at an upscale restaurant in Rome sitting by the low balcony wall. Both guessing what their daughters are up to this night and reminiscing about the grandmothers getting Roman Fever.
Mrs Slade decided to tell a secret from long ago. She says as a joke but it surely did not come across that way, but Mrs Ansley has thrown down the gauntlet and my mouth dropped open!
Very short and very precise 3 stars.

I didn't read this exact book because GR doesn't have mine listed. Reading these short stories introduced me to a lighter, more satirical Edith Wharton, relative to her novels.

The satirical Xingu is wonderful and fun for anyone who has ever belonged to a book group/club. "Fun" is not normally a word I associate with Wharton but this story was a lot of fun.

Roman Fever is also fabulous.

At her very best, which some of these stories are, Wharton is as good as Jane Austen. Nearly all the stories share the theme of saving face when confronted by society's expectations.

Wharton’s many layered characters are refreshing and complex. Every time I read something by her, I just want to devour everything she’s ever written.

Edith Wharton writes well and I've enjoyed reading her a lot. But...still she has something lacking in my opinion that makes her less than great (excepting Ethan Frome).

My favorite quote from this book:
"Her mind was an hotel where facts came and went like transient lodgers, without leaving their address behind, and frequently without paying for their board." Edith Wharton, Xingu

My second favorite:
"Must the most intelligent choice work more disastrously than the blundering combinations of chance?" Edith Wharton, Souls Belated