It is important for me to note that I rarely enjoy short stories in the same degree that I enjoyed Edith Wharton's work. Her stories are certainly long, but her beautiful style aids in the easy, fluid reading experience. Her wit, her turn of phrase, they all catch my attention. If this hadn't been my cousin's copy, I would have written notes on the margins, noted her references to New York (like the good Urban Lit student that I am), and remarked on the themes of womanhood and subversive femininity. I love how Wharton ends her stories: abrupt with the succinct closure from a few simply sentences. I will be unsurprising when I say that one of my favourite stories in this collection is Roman Fever, though After Holbein was fantastic as well.