A Son at the Front

'The war went on; life went on; Paris went on.' In A Son at the Front, her only novel dealing with World War I, Edith Wharton offers a vivid portrait of American expatriate life in Paris, as well as a gripping portrayal of a complex modern family. The painter John Campton is divorced from the mother of his son, George, and although Julia's second husband, Anderson Brant, a wealthy banker, has been a devoted stepfather to George, Campton resents his presence in George's life. This family drama is ruptured by the outbreak of fighting, which requires George, born in France, to report for military service despite his parents' belief that he should be exempted. Reflecting Wharton's own experiences, A Son at the Front documents the shock of the outbreak of war, the early hope of a quick victory for the Allies, the terrible human cost of the war, and the relief when, belatedly, the United States enters the conflict. The novel's tone reflects the realities of life in Paris, and the profound disillusionment of the post-war period, standing as not only an important part of Wharton's oeuvre, but a landmark in the literature of the First World War.

Product details

• Authors: Edith Wharton
• Assisted by: Julie Ammentorp-Olin (Editor), Julie (Le Moyne College) Ammentorp-Olin (Editor), Julie Olin-Ammentorp (Editor), Olin-Ammentorp Julie (Editor)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 23.03.2023
• EAN: 9780198859550
• ISBN: 978-0-19-885955-0
• No. of pages: 320
• Dimensions: 130 mm x 200 mm x 20 mm
• Series: Oxford World's Classics
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; FICTION / Classics, Classic fiction (pre c 1945), LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / 20th Century, Literary studies: from c 1900 -, Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000, c 1914 to c 1918 (World War One period), Classic fiction: general and literary, LITERARY CRITICISM / Novel as Form