At Sharon Historical Society talk, Edith Wharton’s library comes to life

SHARON – The story of Edith Wharton’s personal library is nearly as compelling as the plots of the books themselves.

Sheila Liming, an author and professor of literature and writing at Champlain College in Burlington, Vt., explored Wharton’s relationship with books during a talk Saturday, April 18, at the Sharon Historical Society’s annual meeting.

Liming said she became interested in Wharton while writing her doctoral thesis on “The Environment of Women Writers Engaged in Evolutionary Biology” at Carnegie Mellon University.

That research led her to spend five consecutive summers at Wharton’s home, The Mount, in nearby Lenox, Mass., familiarizing herself with – and digitizing – the collection. While a majority of the collection had book plates, there is still a lot to learn, she said.

Liming divided Saturday’s talk into two sections: one she called the value of books to Edith Wharton and the other, the value of Edith Wharton’s books.

Born Edith Newbold Jones, Wharton, who lived from 1863 to 1937, was the author of such classics as “Ethan Frome” and “The Age of Innocence.” She was the owner of 5,000 books upon her death, 2,700 of which survive today at The Mount.

Wharton delighted in describing the family library of her childhood. Her father, a book lover, was a member of the New York Society of Library, which invoked restrictions for women, such as prohibiting them from browsing or taking out books. When Wharton’s father died, his books were left to her brothers.

“Books carried expectations of ownership,” Liming said, “so she became compelled to do so. It translated into her lifelong ambition to own books.”

Liming described Wharton’s pursuit to collect literary works, saying the author would seek out a range of rare editions and other works. She enjoyed having many of them custom-bound using leather or silk, while others she left in less expensive forms.

Wharton had books stored in three of her houses: in Newport, R.I., in the Paris suburbs and in the south of France. When she died with no heirs, Wharton split her collection between two children: Colin Clark and William Royal Tyler, Jr. Liming surmised they were chosen because their fathers were prominent in the arts and would care for the books.

That wasn’t the case.

Half of Wharton’s collection was stored in a castle in England, where they were exposed to the elements, such as moisture and worms, and deteriorated. Some were damaged by fire.

The other set was placed in a warehouse in London owned by Clark. When he died, his brother wasn’t interested in the collection and sold it for $80,000 to a man named George Ramsden, whose only purpose for the purchase was to woo a girl, who, to his chagrin, married someone else.

Ramsden tried selling the collection to The Mount for $3 million, but was rejected, since an appraisal at that time showed its worth at $1.5 million. In 2006, negotiations were successful and the price received was around $3 million.

“But Ramsden held back part of the library in the basement of his bookstore in England,” said Liming. “He died a bit later and we don’t know what happened to them.”

Having the books at The Mount has been very successful, Liming said. It brings not just curious visitors, but many scholars. It’s been said that the purchase of Wharton’s collection is the most important the site has made. Visitors can view the collection, but there are also many stored in the attic not available to the general public.

Liming’s time at the Mount proved to be very interesting. She talked about finding intriguing items in the books, including notes penned by Wharton herself.

“She would talk to her books, fight with them,” Liming said.

While her collection was reported to be highbrow, she read everything. Liming smiled when she revealed Wharton was obsessed with the Lizzie Andrew Borden case – a Massachusetts woman charged with and acquitted of the axe murders of her father and stepmother – and read everything she could about it.

Liming holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster and a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University. She is the author of several books, including “What a Library Means to a Woman” and “Hanging Out.”