In fact this and others of her books, 'A Mother's Recompense' comes to mind, are even subtler and I want to even say more adult than her better known works. In 1922, two years after winning the Pulitzer Prize for The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton wrote a novel that was acclaimed by The New York Times and quickly became an international bestseller. If, like me, you've never heard of this title it's a shame because Wharton did a LOT of lovely writing beyond her better known classics such as 'Age of Innocence', 'House of Mirth', and 'Ethan Fromm'. I love how Wharton keeps you guessing the outcome right up to the end. (Too bad they couldn't do this type of math with their fortunes!) I don't want to give too much away so I'll stop here. He means to leave for a few days to clear his head but in the mean time they both hear rumors about one another, add 2 and 2 and get 19. Things completely fall apart when he catches her obligingly covering up their hostess's illicit affair. He hates seeing her manipulate situations and people to try and get the best for him.

In her trying, Susy begins to seem grasping and amoral to Nick and he in turn feels ashamed he can't give her more either. As their mutual feelings deepen they both want to give the other more. This one started out very well, but I felt it lost steam as it went on, and the ending was, in my opinion, more than slightly weak. They set out on their European honeymoon staying in first one rich friend's palazzo and then another's chateau having an exquisite time spending their wedding cheques. The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton 1922. First though they promise one another a lovely wedding and at least a year of one another's company. By the 1920's divorce has become somewhat common place in their set. They decide take a risk and get married with the caveat that if either of them has a chance to form a more remunerative partnership the other would agree to a divorce. Susy tells Nick they have to part and why but by then they've fallen too deeply for one another. They meet and fall in love but one rich matron from Susy's circle tells her, in effect, hands off of Nick because she has designs on him. Nick has dreams of making a living by his writing. Susy makes her way in the world flitting from invitation to invitation acting as an unpaid but rewarded assistant to her rich friends. Susy and her beau Nick have both grown up around rich people though their own families have lost their fortunes. The Glimpses of the Moon is a lost 1923 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Bebe Daniels.

The glimpses of the moon