Author Description

About Crucial Instances Crucial Instances is a collection of short stories by American author Edith Wharton, first published in 1901 in the US. ‘Have you ever questioned the long shuttered front of an old Italian house, that motionless mask, smooth, mute, equivocal as the face of a priest behind which buzz the secrets of the confessional? Other houses declare the activities they shelter; they are the clear expressive cuticle of a life flowing close to the surface; but the old palace in its narrow street, the villa on its cypress-hooded hill, are as impenetrable as death. The tall windows are like blind eyes, the great door is a shut mouth. Inside there may be sunshine, the scent of myrtles, and a pulse of life through all the arteries of the huge frame; or a mortal solitude, where bats lodge in the disjointed stones and the keys rust in unused doors....’ Widely regarded as one of the most exceptional authors of her day, Edith Wharton's tremendous body of commercial and literary masterpieces has often eclipsed her limited but remarkable library of short fiction. The seven pieces included in Crucial Instances, her second collection of short stories, are set in diverse and vibrant landscapes, and showcase her masterful use of irony and dark mystery as well as her keen understanding of vanity and human complexity. She also wrote numerous tales that explored supernatural themes and psychological horror, and the opening story in the selection, The Duchess at Prayer, is an adaptation of Honoré de Balzac's La Grande Bretèche, a gripping story of forbidden love and betrayal that comes to a ghastly end. A remarkable short story classic collection that will be sure to fascinate and delight fans of Wharton.