Old New York

First published in Russian!

«Old New York» (Old New York, 1924) by Edith Wharton is a cycle of four novellas—a kind of prequel to the novel «The Age of Innocence», in which life among New York’s elite in the 1840–1870s comes vividly to life. The author portrays, with exquisite precision and ruthless honesty, a world in which unspoken rules of high society, traditions, and reputation govern people’s destinies. Once again, characters familiar from «The Age of Innocence» appear here: the powerful Mrs. Manson Mingott, the indefatigable newsmonger Sillerton Jackson, and the impeccable aristocrat Henry van der Luyden.

The heroes of these stories act out of love and sincere feelings, but society punishes them for the slightest deviation from the accepted model of behavior.

Unfulfilled Hopes: Young Lewis Raycie, following Ruskin’s advice, spends his inheritance on paintings of the Italian Renaissance. His father leaves him with nothing; yet half a century later, those paintings turn into immense wealth.

The Old Maid: Charlotte gives birth to a child out of wedlock—by a former admirer of her cousin Delia. Circumstances force her to give up motherhood, and the girl is taken into Delia’s family, with Delia formalizing the adoption.

A Glimpse: The narrator is captivated by a friend, Hayley Delain, whose inner candor and moral impulse stem from a long-ago military encounter with Whitman. Back then, Delain didn’t recognize who was standing before him; and when the narrator helps him put the pieces together and introduces him to some of the poet’s verses, Delain is disappointed, deciding that the new poetry is an empty invention.

New Year’s Day: Lizzie Hazeldin gives her love to Henry Priest “in exchange” for the chance to support her sick husband. After her husband’s death, she remains forever sullied in society’s eyes, and for the rest of her life she keeps faith with his memory. Years later, the narrator meets an older Lizzie: she lives as a woman of the demi-monde, rejected by respectable society, yet still lets no one in and remains faithful to the image of her husband.