Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “A Backward Glance: An Autobiography” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

A Backward Glance: An Autobiography

by Edith Wharton

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 360 ratings · 49 reviews

A Backward Glance is Edith Wharton's vivid account of both her public and her private life. With richness and delicacy, it describes the sophisticated New York society in which Wharton spent her youth, and chronicles her travels throughout Europe and her literary success as an adult. Beautifully depicted are her friendships with many of the most celebrated artists and writ ...more

Kindle Edition , 420 pages

Published (first published 1934)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

Or buy for

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about A Backward Glance , please sign up .

Be the first to ask a question about A Backward Glance

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 879)

filter | sort : default (?) | rating details

May 27, 2015 Eric rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Backward Glance: An Autobiography takes readers up to 1934, but Wharton's account of the years post-1918 barely amount to an epilogue. She is not desolate, she still draws from her usual sources of joy. Writing, reading, the conversation of a circle of brilliant though fast-dwindling friends, travel, especially yachting the Aegean and motoring in far reaches (given her identification with the French elite, I found it perfect that her exploration of Morocco was smoothed by none other than Gener A Backward Glance: An Autobiography takes readers up to 1934, but Wharton's account of the years post-1918 barely amount to an epilogue. She is not desolate, she still draws from her usual sources of joy. Writing, reading, the conversation of a circle of brilliant though fast-dwindling friends, travel, especially yachting the Aegean and motoring in far reaches (given her identification with the French elite, I found it perfect that her exploration of Morocco was smoothed by none other than General Lyautey). But, she says, life is not the same, many have died, much is ended. Her account of Henry James' decline and death during the war, in a nightmare of empathetic anguish, is hard reading:

I have never seen any one else who, without a private personal stake in that awful struggle, suffered from it as he did. He had not my solace of hard work, though he did all he had strength for, and gave all the pecuniary help he could. But it was not enough. His devouring imagination was never at rest, and the agony was more than he could bear. As far as I know the only letters of mine which he kept were those in which I described my various journeys to the front, and when these were sent back to me after his death they were worn with much handing about. His sensitiveness about his own physical disabilities gave him an exaggerated idea of what his friends were able to do, and he never tired of talking of what he regarded as their superhuman activities. But still the black cloud hung over the world, and to him it was soon to be a pall. Perhaps it was better so. I should have liked to have him standing beside me the day the victorious armies rode by; but when I think of the years intervening between his death and that brief burst of radiance I have not the heart to wish that he had seen it. The waiting would have been too bitter.
...more

flag 23 likes · Like · see review

Feb 18, 2013 Sketchbook rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

EW's "autobiography," written in the mid30s, is preposterous
bunkum. As much as I appreciate her novels, her debutante
preening here makes me dislike her. She constantly refers to
her husband and never mentions that they were divorced in 1913. When she observes that after "The House of Mirth" was published (1905) "my husband and I decided to exchange our little house in NY for a flat in Paris," we know that the hovel accomodated 3-4 servants and could be divided into 6 apartments.

Edie needs a vill EW's "autobiography," written in the mid30s, is preposterous
bunkum. As much as I appreciate her novels, her debutante
preening here makes me dislike her. She constantly refers to
her husband and never mentions that they were divorced in 1913. When she observes that after "The House of Mirth" was published (1905) "my husband and I decided to exchange our little house in NY for a flat in Paris," we know that the hovel accomodated 3-4 servants and could be divided into 6 apartments.

Edie needs a villa in Paris to replace "the emptiness of life in a hotel." Meanwhile, off to the French and Italian Rivieras. Salons and parties with "my dear friend the Marquis de Segur," or Comte Alexandre de Laborde - aah, the pre-war society of the Faubourg Saint-Germain. The name of Morton Fullerton, the American journalist who allegedly gave her a Lady Chatterley thrill, is omitted from this memoir. The company Edie kept was mostly men, brilliant aesthetes like Henry James, Walter Berry, Howard Sturgis -- professional "bachelors." However, her portrait of James is genuinely warm and admirable.

She does include a Fun Fact : in France, at a dinner party, the
"host and hostess sit opposite one another in the middle of the
table." Or did pre-war. I'm told Hearst did the same at San Simeon. Guests descend, r and l, in dwindling importance.

"Life is the saddest thing there is, next to death," she concludes
in the last lines. (What the devil is she gurgling about?) She won
prizes, was acclaimed for her best-sellers, made 62 transatlantic
crossings First Class, had stately homes here and there, chartered yachts, and, frankly, never sat still - until she died in 1937.

Post-war America offended her. She couldnt bear to see any breakup of the the social and class structure that enhanced her Gilded Age. Dont misunderstand my irreverence. Edie was a lady. Her stories capture a prehistoric period. It seems she and Fullerton could never get-it-on because her servants were always about. Elsewhere we read they finally pulled the shades in London at the Charing Cross Hotel. I bet it didnt go beyond frottage.

...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 01, 2008 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: recently-read

Edith Wharton is one of my favorite authors, and I've been waiting to read this autobiography since I saw all of the great reviews when it first came out. It certainly did not disappoint-- chock full of insights about the books and Wharton's life without being too confessional.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 30, 2014 Hamish rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction , lit

I was a little confused by some of the criticism of this here on Goodreads. It's a memoir, not an autobiography, which may seem like splitting hairs, but the whole point of a memoir is that you share bits and pieces of your life that you feel are worth relating, not the whole thing. So yeah, she leaves out her divorce and many other important events, but the point is that she's trying to focus on more pleasant memories. However, this brings its own drawbacks. Too often these memories just amount ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2011 Gwynhwyfar rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Some people accused John Galsworthy, author of a similar "Study of manners",The Forsyte Saga, of being a hypocritical member of the very class he criticized. I will save that argument for another time, but I think it very much applies to Wharton. This autobiography is little more than a romp down memory lane, from her giddy, embarrassingly girlish descriptions of her Victorian clothing and even bonnets, as a child and outings with her beloved father.

Just when people like Henry James are introduc ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 02, 2015 Carol rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: wharton

I found Edith Wharton’s autobiography very limited (and in many ways) condescending. Wharton loved to share all the details of her exciting, elitist’s lifestyle but when it came to her losses, Wharton completely ignores them. According to her publisher in 1934, regarding her autobiography, “it was so unrevealing that its publishers, to Wharton's fury, tried to adjust their contract to permit severe cutting of what they called long "dull" parts.” www.http:www.penguinclassics.co.uk/nf...

Most likel ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 16, 2009 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiography , biography , literary-biography , authors-vw

Wharton's writing is every bit as clear and lucid as in her novels, and I really liked the look at her own life and background. I especially liked her understated wit and her early amazement at becoming a well-known writer, which makes her seem very human and approachable; here's a favorite passage: "I had written short stories that were thought worthy of preservation! Was it the same insignificant I that I had always known? Any one walking along the streets might go into any bookshop, and say: ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 29, 2010 Kristina Cole rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

wanted to love this, i really did. but i also wanted to know something more personal about edith wharton, and although i heard a lot about her friends and europe and new york, i didn't feel like it went as deep as i wanted it to. for instance, what was her marriage really like? her husband seems to be a minor figure in her life based on this account--can that really be true? so although i enjoyed the tone and the writing itself, it was very unsatisfying.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 17, 2014 Kyle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For the most part I absolutely loved Wharton's autobiography. If there's one thing I appreciate in an author it's the ability to write a beautiful sentence, and Wharton is a master:

Norton was supremely gifted as an awakener, and no thoughtful mind can recall without a thrill the notes of the first voice which has called it out of its morning dream.

I can't think of any better way to express the feeling you get when you are learning from a great teacher. And her outlook on life was inspiring:

In sp For the most part I absolutely loved Wharton's autobiography. If there's one thing I appreciate in an author it's the ability to write a beautiful sentence, and Wharton is a master:

Norton was supremely gifted as an awakener, and no thoughtful mind can recall without a thrill the notes of the first voice which has called it out of its morning dream.

I can't think of any better way to express the feeling you get when you are learning from a great teacher. And her outlook on life was inspiring:

In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.

I also cannot express how much I enjoyed the stories Wharton told about her beloved friend, the Master, Henry James. I've read biographies of James, his novels, biographies of his brother William and sister Alice, and Wharton's account is the best at providing a look at a different side of James. Not a brother, not the famous novelist, but a dear friend.

Many have criticized Wharton for not going into the details of her divorce or her affair with Morton Fullerton. I do not. Can you really expect someone raised in the society described in The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence to go into such personal details in an autobigoraphy?

A few things prevented this book from achieving five star status. At times the lists of friends grew tiresome, especially the Paris chapter. I also wish more time had been given to her thoughts about her work (The Age of Innocence gets a mere two paragraphs). But overall, a very enjoyable look into the life of one of my favorite writers. ...more

flag Like · see review

Apr 08, 2009 Ann-marie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Found this book by accident at a used book store. It reads slowly, but she's fun to listen to, a Victorian diction, true 'old-school' manner. It was like visiting with an old aunt. As a feminist, it reminded me that it was not so long ago that women were not encouraged to have a career of any sort, and that many of us were functionally illiterate, even the wealthy.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 11, 2015 Fran rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nineteenth-century , memoirs , twentieth-century , writers , gilded-age , americans-in-europe , world-war-i

Edith Wharton was a remarkable woman. In this book, she writes about the highlights of her life. The beginning focuses on her privileged childhood and how her love of books developed, leading to her becoming a successful writer. Throughout the book, she describes in depth, the people who were influential in her life. She captures the gilded era that ended with World War I which she experienced first hand, living in Europe and volunteering to help refugees in Paris. I highly recommend to those wh ...more

flag Like · see review

May 20, 2014 Deborah Schuff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiography-biography , non-fiction

Edith Wharton has written many novels, some of which (House of Mirth; Ethan Fromme; The Age of Innocence) have been made into movies. Her autobiography is as much of a depiction of the now-lost era of pre-WW1 New York and European society as it is about her own life. Although I felt put off once or twice at a touch of snobbishness due to her upbringing, I fell in love with her written words. I most especially enjoyed her stories about her friend Henry James. But it is her final two chapters ("Th ...more

flag Like · see review

Dec 26, 2014 Ann Aldrich rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another glimpse of the history of the autobiography, this one half a century before Eleanor Roosevelt. Wharton reveals very little about her inner self. The book is a combination travelogue and celebrity listing of all her many friends (most of whom I've never heard of). She writes in much more detail about her many arty friends than about herself. In particular, she writes nothing about her marriage, which is the subject I was most interested in. Her husband suffered from depression and bankrup ...more

flag Like · see review

Jan 08, 2015 Joanna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"I was born happy every morning."

When I finished this book I looked at the reviews and agreed with them. I was wanting more. Wharton didn't include many juicy details, but seemed more intent on naming names of people and places she had been. There was something lacking. Maybe her own brutal honesty that she gave her characters? She seemed trapped, to me, in this book. Perhaps because as her only biographical piece, she wasn't as able to be as open as when she writes about a fictional character. "I was born happy every morning."

When I finished this book I looked at the reviews and agreed with them. I was wanting more. Wharton didn't include many juicy details, but seemed more intent on naming names of people and places she had been. There was something lacking. Maybe her own brutal honesty that she gave her characters? She seemed trapped, to me, in this book. Perhaps because as her only biographical piece, she wasn't as able to be as open as when she writes about a fictional character.

It was interesting still, especially just to hear of how she began and developed her writing career and how her characters appeared in her mind already with names attached. I also enjoyed reading of her experiences with the war and her opinions. It just seemed like something was lacking. This was more of a travellogue and thank you (she wanted to make sure to mention certain names, to thank people). Maybe she was just getting older and that is precisely what it was.

I was also rather disappointed to feel a sort of ...superiority in her towards wWhat was acceptable socially. It seemed important to her to run in certain circles and be fashionable. With her recognition in her novels of how unimportant those things were, I guess I would have hoped she lived with the same conviction.

I did enjoy her explanation as to how writers were perceived as being a threat and bohemian at the time in New York. It was an insight to that society. Men who didn't have jobs, people who lived off of trusts. "The leisure class" as she called it. How she enjoyed the daily visiting and social proprieties. It did seem however like they just wasted an awful lot of time. Motoring and dining. When her works came out and her name better known, she dealt with people's opinions and seemed to have a headstrongness about her.

I was just at the Rue de Varennes in France I few months back and thought of her as I walked down the street, not far from the river Seine. She was an independent woman, driving to the war fronts and reporting. Living alone in beautiful Paris.

She spoke nothing of her personal life, which I think was a pity. Would have been much more interesting.

Respect her love of travel. Reading. Her need to write. Love of conversation.

❤️ ...more

flag Like · see review

Jan 03, 2015 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this memoir by Edith Wharton. I should probably add that if you love Edith Wharton's work, you will almost certainly also love this memoir - if you've never read Wharton, or don't care for her writing, then this is probably not the book to start with or try.

This isn't an "autobiography," but more of a collection of reminiscences, although it does proceed in a roughly chronological way. I found Wharton's descriptions of her early childhood years, when she was just discovering books, fasci ...more

flag Like · see review

Jun 23, 2014 Iwokeinrelief rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century , nonfiction , women , read-in-2013

A mostly pleasant diversion.

And I do mean overwhelmingly pleasant - not so much in the enjoyable sense, but in the oh so mannered sense of the time it is about (though maybe not the time in which it was written). So it was good, but as this is the first thing I've read of Wharton - I admit, an odd choice - I found myself not overwhelmingly drawn in by the subject matter.

Add to that my general ignorance of the literary time period in which, and of which, she wrote and the whole thing was kind of ...more

flag Like · see review

Jul 18, 2013 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was so excited to read this book because I've been finding myself lately so intrigued by Wharton's novels and in the one-pager summary of her life that appear at the back of her books, there was always a hint of spunk that I was determined to uncover.

In this autobiography, Wharton documents her travels across Europe, her friendships and her journey through becoming a writer. That image of her and Henry James riding a motor car traversing through the English countryside with James fumbling thro ...more

flag Like · see review

Nov 04, 2009 Tiffany rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love Edith Wharton. Love her books. Admire and want to write like her.
I picked up this book to try to learn about becoming a writer. Wharton barely addressed her creative process in this book - she spent much more time on Henry James in her own memoir! And I'm a little alarmed by what she did write. Her characters and scenes sprang from her mind fully formed, fictitious people with their own names and histories. Is that normal? Because that's sure not how my mind works. Maybe I'm not cut out t ...more

flag Like · see review

Apr 19, 2011 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This autobiography contains lots of interesting anecdotes and makes me want to start having dinner parties at which I throw together all sorts of people- she values all her friends so much, and one of the cool things about her life is the way she is constantly mixing with all different kinds of people, although her companions are very clearly delimited by class, and that insulated world with all that wealth and name-dropping made the book a little hard to get through in parts, even though I don' ...more

flag Like · see review

Dec 18, 2014 Susan Barsy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-and-memoirs

Some people owe it to history to write their memoirs. Edith Wharton was certainly one of them. While enjoying the advantage of wealth and position, Wharton's many accomplishments and passions made her a Gilded Age trailblazer. Nothing in her childhood dictated that she become a prolific author, that she earn a living through work (which few of her social acquaintances did), or that she educate herself in fields such as aesthetics or European history about which most Americans knew nothing. While ...more

flag Like · see review

Apr 21, 2014 Stephanie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction

I really liked this book in the beginning. However, as the book went on it started dragging. Then I got bored. I can't remember the last time it took me a month to read a book this short. I just couldn't stay in it.

It's supposedly an autobiography, but I'm not sure I by it. If it is it may be one of the most self-indulgent autobiographies ever. There is more than enough of the book dedicated to talking about her wealth in a very passive aggressive way. She didn't live in a small NY house despite ...more

flag Like · see review

Jan 14, 2014 Kay Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: edith-wharton

This beautifully told autobiography recounts Edith Wharton's childhood in New York City, with months in Europe and Newport, Rhode Island.

Edith Wharton explores her beginnings as a writer. She describes The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts, and her homes in France. She recounts her troubled marriage with tact and focuses on the friendships she shared with Henry James and other writers of her generation.

Edith Wharton wrote many books, and their quality varies. This is her best book.

flag Like · see review

Aug 24, 2015 Wanda Brenni rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although full of names lost through time and focus on intellectual pursuits and itinerary,still well worth the read--a very singular woman whose novels I have always loved...

flag Like · see review

Mar 05, 2011 Jukka added it · review of another edition

Shelves: wharton-books

A Backward Glance (1934) - Edith Wharton
Her autobiography. Very well done and interesting. Good insight on her writing, travels, her friendship with Henry James and more.

I read this (a while back) side by side with Edith Wharton: a Biography by R.W.B. Lewis. [I'm sure this would be good with the more recent biography by Hermoine Lee.] It was great to compare the two, to see what Wharton said about her life, what she included and what she left out.

I'd love to find a literary biography on Wharton' ...more

flag Like · see review

Jun 28, 2015 Joe Mossa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a great book by a great writer and great woman.

flag Like · see review

Jul 12, 2012 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There's a fabulous quote in the first few paragraphs of her autobio-- to the effect that one can endure all life's sorrows if one remains curious; happy in small things and interested in big ones-- which (I should be able to quote exactly from memory but can't at the moment-- However-- it is how I have always approached life and it's served me well all these years. If anyone recalls the exact quote-- would be happy to hear from her or him... .

flag Like · see review

Sep 08, 2015 Duane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: rated-books , reviewed-books , memoir

Edith Wharton, to me, was one of the best authors of the 20th century. The excellence of her entire body of work ranks her with Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and James. In this volume she takes a look back at her own life; the novels, her marriage, her friends, and her life as an American living in Paris. Her good friend, Henry James, wrote the introduction and her skills as a writer make this autobiography very enjoyable to read.

flag Like · see review

Dec 14, 2012 Erika rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was interesting to read about the privileged life of a New Yorker at the turn of the 20th century. I got bored with some of the chapters about writers I have never heard of, but I loved the Henry James stories; he really came to life. The book did a good job of creating the vision of what Wharton's life was like. I wouldn't mind reading a biography now to get the personal details that Wharton omitted.

flag Like · see review

Jun 04, 2011 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This only barely scratched the surface of what I wanted to know from HER. An inordinate amount of time spent on Henry James, and only the smallest references to her marriage (and subsequent divorce).
I thoroughly enjoyed the teeny-tiny account of her creative process, especially regarding the appearance of characters already named. On to the Hermione Lee biography for more!

flag Like · see review

Sep 10, 2014 John rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own , nonfiction , mexico

The first half of this I was going to give it a 5 but got a bit tired of it towards the end. Do not get me wrong it could have not been written any better but I got tired of her forever talking about this this person and that with out going into much detail about many of them. I am going to order some of her books to read though. I guess I should have given it a 4.

flag Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 29 30 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

Biography

17 users

Autobiography > Memoir

14 users

Non Fiction

13 users

Biography > Autobiography

12 users

Classics

7 users

History

3 users

Biography Memoir

2 users

Language > Writing

2 users

New York

2 users

See top shelves...

About Edith Wharton

Edith Newbold Jones was born into such wealth and privilege that her family inspired the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses." The youngest of three children, Edith spent her early years touring Europe with her parents and, upon the family's return to the United States, enjoyed a privileged childhood in New York and Newport, Rhode Island. Edith's creativity and talent soon became obvious: By the a Edith Newbold Jones was born into such wealth and privilege that her family inspired the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses." The youngest of three children, Edith spent her early years touring Europe with her parents and, upon the family's return to the United States, enjoyed a privileged childhood in New York and Newport, Rhode Island. Edith's creativity and talent soon became obvious: By the age of eighteen she had written a novella, (as well as witty reviews of it) and published poetry in the Atlantic Monthly.

After a failed engagement, Edith married a wealthy sportsman, Edward Wharton. Despite similar backgrounds and a shared taste for travel, the marriage was not a success. Many of Wharton's novels chronicle unhappy marriages, in which the demands of love and vocation often conflict with the expectations of society. Wharton's first major novel, The House of Mirth, published in 1905, enjoyed considerable literary success. Ethan Frome appeared six years later, solidifying Wharton's reputation as an important novelist. Often in the company of her close friend, Henry James, Wharton mingled with some of the most famous writers and artists of the day, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, André Gide, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, and Jack London.

In 1913 Edith divorced Edward. She lived mostly in France for the remainder of her life. When World War I broke out, she organized hostels for refugees, worked as a fund-raiser, and wrote for American publications from battlefield frontlines. She was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her courage and distinguished work.

The Age of Innocence, a novel about New York in the 1870s, earned Wharton the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1921 -- the first time the award had been bestowed upon a woman. Wharton traveled throughout Europe to encourage young authors. She also continued to write, lying in her bed every morning, as she had always done, dropping each newly penned page on the floor to be collected and arranged when she was finished. Wharton suffered a stroke and died on August 11, 1937. She is buried in the American Cemetery in Versailles, France.
- Barnesandnoble.com ...more

More about Edith Wharton...

Books by Edith Wharton

More…

Share This Book

Share on your website

title link	preview: A Backward Glance: An Autobiography
avg rating	preview: A Backward Glance: An Autobiography Goodreads rating: 3.74 (360 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8721540-a-backward-glance?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387672887l/8721540.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8721540-a-backward-glance?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]A Backward Glance: An Autobiography by Edith Wharton[/url]

+ Share on your website

Trivia About A Backward Glance...

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from A Backward Glance: An ...

“The real marriage of true minds is for any two people to possess a sense of humor or irony pitched in exactly the same key, so that their joint glances on any subject cross like interarching searchlights.” — 94 likes

“I cannot picture what the life of the spirit would have been without him. He found me when my mind and soul were hungry and thirsty, and he fed them till our last hour together. It is such comradeships, made of seeing and dreaming, and thinking and laughing together, that make one feel that for those who have shared them there can be no parting.” — 9 likes

More quotes…

See a Problem?

Preview — A Backward Glance by Edith Wharton

A Backward Glance: An Autobiography

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

About Edith Wharton

Books by Edith Wharton

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About A Backward Glance...

Quotes from A Backward Glance: An ...