Benert (American and British literature, DeSales U.) asserts that Wharton's best work embodies the tension between the grace of elegant, beautiful houses and public spaces and the effects on
those excluded from those spaces. Benert makes her argument by tracking Wharton's architectural and literary achievements in tandem and revealing their complex relationship. By underscoring
Wharton's concerns about the built and the natural environment and about antipathies between classes, Benert deepens our understanding of Wharton's works. Distributed by Associated University
Presses. Annotation 穢2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
