"Old New York" is a 1924 book by Edith Wharton that includes four novellas. These stories focus on the wealthy people of New York City during the 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, and 1870s.

Overview

The novellas are not directly connected, although some fictional characters appear in more than one story. The New York setting in these stories is the same as in The Age of Innocence (1920), and some characters from that book also appear in these novellas. The way these stories describe the manners and morals of 19th-century New York upper-class society is similar to The Age of Innocence, but these novellas focus more on individual characters than on telling a complete story.

Some characters who appear in both these stories and The Age of Innocence include Mrs. (Catherine) Manson Mingott, Sillerton Jackson, Mrs. Lemuel Struthers, and Henry Van der Luyden. Other families and institutions also appear in more than one story within this larger collection of New York-based stories.

The four novellas

The stories are set in earlier times than The Age of Innocence and are similar in style, characters, and themes. They share settings, characters, social observations, and details, as well as some objects like a canary coach or an ormolu clock.

Lewis Raycie, 21 years old, is sent to Europe by his father, Halston Raycie, to collect art. Halston hopes to be remembered as the leader of a powerful family. Lewis is expected to bring back famous artworks that New York’s leaders approve of. However, in Europe, Lewis befriends John Ruskin, who encourages him to buy art from unknown artists instead. When Lewis returns and shows these works to his father, Halston is upset and disowns him. Halston dies soon after and cannot stop Lewis from marrying a woman who resembles the subjects of the art he bought. Together, they open a gallery to display the art. New York society dislikes the art, but decades later, after all the Raycies are gone, the art is recognized as valuable.

This novella takes up one-third of the collection and has the most developed characters and plot.

Delia Ralston, who was once named Lovell, welcomes her cousin Charlotte ("Chatty") Lovell, who is about to marry. Charlotte admits she is the mother of a child born out of wedlock. Her fiancé, Joe Ralston, does not know about the child and wants Charlotte to leave her work at an orphanage where the child lives. Charlotte refuses to give up her daughter, Clementina ("Tina"), whose father is Clement Spender, a New Yorker who moved overseas to become an artist. Delia agrees to help Charlotte keep Tina but also prevents Charlotte from marrying Joe, who is related to Delia’s husband. After Delia’s husband dies, Charlotte and Tina move into Delia’s home. When Tina grows up, society considers her an orphan with no family or wealth, making it hard for her to find a husband. Charlotte fears Tina might become pregnant before marrying. To avoid this, Delia adopts Tina, and Tina finds a fiancé. The story ends the night before Tina’s wedding, with tension between Delia and Charlotte over who is truly Tina’s mother.

This novella was adapted for the stage by Zoë Akins and won the 1935 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A film version was made in 1939 by Warner Bros., directed by Edmund Goulding. The film starred Bette Davis as Charlotte, Miriam Hopkins as Delia, and George Brent as Clement Spender. The studio faced challenges getting approval for the film due to its themes of an affair and an illegitimate child.

The least developed novella is set in the 1890s but focuses on events from the 1860s. It follows Hayley Delane, who was a boy when the Civil War began. He ran off to fight, was wounded at Bull Run, and spent time recovering in a Washington hospital. There, he met a mysterious stranger who remained in his memory as a spiritual guide. Hayley later marries Leila Gracy, the daughter of Bill Gracy, a man known for drinking and gambling. The narrator notes that Hayley seems out of place, as if he belongs to an older time. Leila is loyal to Hayley but also has affairs with other men. The narrator witnesses Hayley beating one of Leila’s suitors after seeing him mistreat a polo pony. Hayley takes care of Bill Gracy as the old man ages, while Leila leaves for Europe. Hayley continues caring for Bill despite society’s judgment. One day, Hayley visits the narrator and learns the stranger from the war was Walt Whitman. The narrator respects Whitman’s work, but Hayley does not.

Society misunderstands the relationship between Mrs. Lizzie Hazeldean and Henry Prest, an unmarried man. In reality, society’s view of their situation is incorrect.

All the stories explore important topics such as religion, women’s rights, art criticism, societal rules, wealth among New York’s elite, family loyalty, love, and honor. These themes are examined through Edith Wharton’s sharp observations about society, which she knew well from her own upbringing. For example, in New Year’s Day, she writes: “The self-sufficing little society of that vanished New York attached no great importance to wealth, but regarded poverty as so distasteful that it simply took no account of it.” Wharton often reflects on how time changes things, such as objects, places, families, and traditions. Many details and subplots are not included in the summaries.

Publication

The four novellas were first published in 1924 by D. Appleton and Company. Edward C. Caswell created the illustrations for the books. The copyright was renewed in 1951 by William R. Tyler. It expired on January 1, 2020, when the work entered the public domain. In 2011, the books are available in a trade paper edition from Scribner, which was released in 1995 (ISBN 978-0-02-038314-7). They are also available in hardcover from the Library of America.