Tales of Men and Ghosts

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Gutenberg ID

—

Title

Tales of Men and Ghosts

Language

en

Book source

Global Grey

Description max 80 words

Edith Wharton's "Tales of Men and Ghosts" is a collection of supernatural and psychological stories exploring guilt, repression, and unseen forces in early 20th-century society. With elegant prose and a focus on the human psyche, this classic anthology offers a haunting look at the darker corners of the mind and the consequences of hidden secrets.

Summary up to 500 words

In *Tales of Men and Ghosts*, Edith Wharton presents a collection of interconnected narratives that explore the fragile boundary between reality and the supernatural, the burden of artistic ambition, and the corrosive nature of deception. The collection opens with the story of Hubert Granice, a playwright consumed by ten years of unrelieved failure. Plagued by despair and contemplating suicide, Granice awaits a lawyer to finalize a will change, only to be interrupted by the crushing news that his play has been rejected by the very theater company he sought to join. This rejection forces him to confront the tragic death of his friend Joseph Lenman, a murder Granice claims he can explain, hinting at a deeper, perhaps supernatural, connection between his personal ruin and the mystery of Lenman's death. The narrative shifts to the intellectual world of John Winterman, a recluse who claims to have discovered the writings of the philosopher John Pellerin. Winterman is brought before the scholar Howland Wade, who has debunked Pellerin's ideas. In a complex web of deception, Winterman is exposed as a plagiarist who insists he never read Pellerin, challenging the nature of originality and the psychological toll of obsession. Through characters like the devoted but deceived Lizzie, who discovers her husband's infidelity and hidden letters, Wharton examines how lies erode relationships and how the past inevitably haunts the present. The tales culminate in a meditation on the inevitability of consequences and the haunting presence of history that cannot be escaped, even by those attempting to rewrite their own histories. Wharton's tone is one of psychological realism, where the 'ghosts' are often the inescapable truths of human nature and the consequences of our actions.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Fiction