Book summary

Wharton's nonfiction in this collection includes book reviews, introductions to editions of her own works, eulogies, and several incisive critical studies, including "The Vice of Reading"--which argues that reading is not a boring duty but an imaginative skill--"The Criticism of Fiction"--which defends French formalist fiction--and essays on realism in fiction and on the vagaries of literary taste.

Media reviews

"Wegener provides not only an invaluable compilation of Wharton's uncollected critical writings but also a sound and thoroughly informed overview of Wharton's critical achievement."