Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton

The story revolves around a wealthy widow, Mrs. Verney, who becomes obsessed with the idea of marrying her daughter, Nadina, to a rich and aristocratic man, despite Nadina's lack of interest in him. As Mrs. Verney's schemes unfold, she begins to manipulate those around her, including her own daughter, to achieve her desired outcome.

By Edith Wharton · First published 1902 · Genre: Fiction, Social Criticism, Satire · 32 chapters · 100,104 words

First lines

MISS BRUSS, the perfect secretary, received Nona Manford at the door of her mother's boudoir ("the office," Mrs. Manford's children called it) with a gesture of the kindliest denial.

"She wants to, you know, dear -- your mother always wants to see you," pleaded Maisie Bruss, in a voice which seemed to be thinned and sharpened by continuous telephoning. Miss Bruss, attached to Mrs. Manford's service since shortly after the latter's second marriage, had known Nona from her childhood, and was privileged, even now that she was "out," to treat her with a certain benevolent familiarity -- benevolence being the note of the Manford household.

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What this Textopian page supports

Twilight Sleep is listed on Textopian as a novel by Edith Wharton, dated 1902 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Novel
• Author: Edith Wharton
• Date: 1902 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Fiction, Social Criticism, Satire, Drama
• Length: 100,104 words
• Structure: 32 chapters, 1,732 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
• Readability and classroom-planning context
• Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

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Genres

• Fiction — The book is a narrative of imaginary events and characters.
• Social Criticism — The book critiques the superficiality and materialism of the upper class society.
• Satire — The book uses humor, irony, and exaggeration to expose and criticize the society's foolishness.
• Drama — The book contains sequences of high emotional intensity, conflict, and struggle.

Tags

Gothic Fiction · Romance · Supernatural · Mystery · Psychological Thriller · Dark Fantasy · Victorian Era · Wealth and Class · Social Hierarchy · Marriage and Relationships · Family Secrets · Haunted House

Contents

• CHAPTER I
• CHAPTER II
• CHAPTER III
• CHAPTER IV
• CHAPTER V
• CHAPTER VI
• CHAPTER VII
• CHAPTER VIII
• CHAPTER IX
• CHAPTER X
• CHAPTER XI
• CHAPTER XII
• CHAPTER XIII
• CHAPTER XIV
• CHAPTER XV
• CHAPTER XVI
• CHAPTER XVII
• CHAPTER XVIII
• CHAPTER XIX
• CHAPTER XX
• CHAPTER XXI
• CHAPTER XXII
• CHAPTER XXIII
• CHAPTER XXIV
• CHAPTER XXV
• CHAPTER XXVI
• CHAPTER XXVII
• CHAPTER XXVIII
• CHAPTER XXIX
• CHAPTER XXX
• CHAPTER XXXI
• CHAPTER XXXII

More by Edith Wharton

• Atrophy (1937)
• A Bottle of Perrier (1924)
• Mr. Jones (1924)
• After Holbein (1924)
• Dieu D'Amour (1924)
• The Refugees (1924)
• The Spark (1924)
• The Old Maid (1924)
• All works by Edith Wharton