Edith Wharton

"Dutiful Newland Archer, an eligible young man from New York high society, is about to announce his engagement to May Welland, a suitable match from a good family, when May’s cousin, the beautiful and exotic Countess Ellen Olenska, is introduced into their circle. The Countess brings with her an aura of European sophistication and a hint of perceived scandal, having left her husband and claimed her independence. Her worldliness, disregard for society’s...

"No history of the American uncanny tale would be complete without mention of Edith Wharton, yet many of Wharton's most dedicated admirers are unaware that she was a master of the form. In fact, one of Wharton's final literary acts was assembling Ghosts, a personal selection of her own most chilling stories, written between 1902 and 1937. In "The Lady's Maid's Bell," the earliest tale included here, a servant's dedication to her mistress continues...

"This anthology spans more than a century of noir fiction set in the heart of the Big Apple--"17 sure winners" from Edith Wharton, Donald Westlake, and more ( Publishers Weekly , starred review). The island of Manhattan has been a breeding ground of crime, longing, and discontent since its earliest days as a city--and a natural setting for noir fiction since the genre was invented. And from Harlem to Greenwich Village to Wall Street, it has also...