The Writing of Fiction, Edith Wharton
The Writing of Fiction, Edith Wharton
6 Rating(s)
List: $13.99 | Sale: $9.80
Club: $6.99

The Writing of Fiction

Author: Edith Wharton

Narrator: Erin Bateman

Unabridged: 3 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/13/2022


Synopsis

“True originality consists not in a new manner, but in a new vision.”
Grab a pen and hone your writing skills under the guidance one of the greatest teachers of the craft.
Edith Wharton made her claim in the literary world as the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Literature. She is famous for her works of fiction, which include The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, and Ethan Frome. Breaking from this tradition, The Writing of Fiction sets itself apart as a distinctive work of nonfiction, in which Wharton pulls back the curtain to reveal the theories behind a great story.
The Writing of Fiction delves into the timeless questions of all aspiring writers:
1. How do I find inspiration?2. How do I turn thoughts and ideas into words?3. How do I make my characters seem real?4. How do I write something original when so much has already been written?5. How do I tell a compelling story?Wharton offers advice specific to writing short stories and writing novels. She pulls insights from other great writers along the way and concludes with an in-depth analysis of French novelist Marcel Proust.
The Writing of Fiction is a chance to mingle with renowned writers and find your own voice. Consider it Wharton’s personal invitation to discover your own potential and jump-start your creative process.

About Edith Wharton

American author Edith Wharton is distinguished for her stories and ironic novels about early-twentieth-century, upper-class Americans and Europeans. Although Ethan Frome, a stark New England tragedy, is probably her best-known work, she earned recognition and popularity for her "society novels," in which she analyzed the changing scene of fashionable American life in contrast to that of Old Europe.

Wharton's literary talent was epitomized in her novel The Age of Innocence, for which she won a Pulitzer Prize, and which was made into a film in 1993. Other major works of hers include The House of Mirth, The Reef, and The Custom of the Country. She published more than forty volumes, including novels, short stories, poems, essays, travel books, and memoirs.

Born Edith Newbold Jones into a wealthy and socially prominent New York family in 1862, she was educated privately by European governesses both in the United States and abroad. In 1885, Edith reluctantly married Edward Wharton, a Boston banker, who was twelve years her senior. The marriage ended in divorce twenty-eight years later.

Wharton spent long periods of time in Europe and settled in France from 1910 until her death. Her familiarity with continental languages and European settings influenced many of her works. She became a literary hostess to young writers, including Henry James, at her Paris apartment and her garden home in the south of France. During World War I, she was a war correspondent, ran a workroom for unemployed but skilled woman workers, and took charge of 600 Belgian child refugees who had to leave their orphanage at the time of the German advance.

Wharton was also active in fund-raising activities and participated in the production of an illustrated anthology of war writings by prominent authors and artists of the period. The French government awarded her the Cross of the Legion of Honor in 1915. Wharton died in 1937.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Khush on February 21, 2018

This book is a great meditation on writing as the title suggests. One reason I love reading books is because of the language. In terms of content, there is nothing unusual about the book. In fact, most students of literature are most probably already familiar with theories regarding writing fiction.......more

Goodreads review by Encarni on May 31, 2021

Es un ensayo, como su título dice, sobre escribir ficción. Es interesante, aunque, teniendo en cuenta la época, faltarían géneros y autores. No obstante su lectura ayuda un poco a lo que intentamos escribir cuatro frases con sentido.......more

Goodreads review by Catalina on July 15, 2022

Agradecida......more

Goodreads review by Mark on June 09, 2022

I’ve read several of Edith Wharton’s novels, and one book of her short stories, but I hadn’t heard of her 1925 book The Writing of Fiction until recently, as was looking through her bibliography. Wait, Edith Wharton wrote a book about writing? I need to get it! The Writing of Fiction is a short read......more

Goodreads review by Emily on August 18, 2024

The first chapter's language was too lofty, and this would've been a better read if I was more familiar with the examples she cited. Also, the take that War and Peace was not too long of a book is not one I can get behind. The second appendix was unnecessary.......more