Madame de Treymes

the long version

Madame de Treymes an important, early Edith Wharton novel about the differences between American and European society, published the year she left the United States to take up permanent residency in France. In a masterpiece of brevity, Wharton dramatizes the contrast between the two opposing forces: the simple and proper old brownstone New York, low in style but high in principle, and the achingly beautiful but decadent Saint-Germain district of Paris. The issue is seamlessly joined.