Three short novels deal with turn of the century family life, a new hired hand, and the World War I homefront and the influenza epidemic.

The second Edith Wharton volume in The Library of America series contains five tales of Edith Wharton along with her autobiography and a previously unpublished autobiographical fragment.

Raise high the roof beam, carpenters. Describes Buddy Glass's visit on Army leave during World War II to attend the wedding of his brother Seymour to Muriel and tells of the aftermath when Seymour fails to show, which set the stage for Seymour's suicide in 1948. Seymour : an introduction. Buddy Glass introduces his brother Seymour, who had committed suicide in 1948, using a stream of consciousness narrative as he reminisces in his secluded home.

"The days are getting shorter as summer's end approaches, which means it's time for the Harvest Festival, the last big event of the season, held by Mamie Fish, wife of millionaire railroad tycoon Stuyvesant Fish, at their grand "cottage," Crossways. The neocolonial mansion is decked out in artificial autumn splendor, and an extravagant scavenger hunt will be held. But the crowning jewel of the evening will be the guest of honor, Prince Otto of Austria....

Queenstown, County Cork, Ireland. April 1912. Twelve-year-old Harp Delaney is an unusual child, quiet and intelligent far beyond her years. She would rather spend her days in the library of the grand Georgian house that she sees as her home than playing on the streets with other children. Her mother, Rose, is the reserved and ladylike housekeeper at the Cliff House. The local women envy her grace and poise while the men admire her beauty. She behaves...

"Violet Townsend has always been a people pleaser. Raised in the privileged world of Upper East Side Manhattan, she always says the right things, wears the right clothes, and never rocks the boat. Violet would do anything for the people closest to her, especially her beloved grandmother. So when she asks Violet to teach the newly discovered grandson of her friend how to fit in with New York City's elite, Violet immediately agrees. Her goal? To get...