Marathon Reading of ‘Ethan Frome’ at The Mount on Saturday

Ethan Frome(LENOX, Mass.) – Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, widely believed to be based on a real incident that took place in Lenox, will be the subject of a free marathon reading at The Mount – where Wharton lived when she wrote the book – on Saturday, February 23, 2013, starting at 1 pm and lasting as long as it takes to finish reading the book out loud, which is expected to be around 4:30.

The reading will take place in the Drawing Room of the very house where Wharton wrote the acclaimed novel, which takes place in a very Lenox-like ficitonal town of Starkfield. The novel resembles the true-life story of a fatal accident involving four girls and one boy who crashed into a lamppost while sledding down Courthouse Hill in Lenox. Hazel Crosby was killed in the accident.

Young Edith Wharton

Young Edith Wharton

Another girl involved in the accident, Kate Spencer, became friends with Wharton while both worked at the Lenox Library, and it was from Spencer that Wharton learned of the accident. Ethan Frome is among the few works by Wharton with a rural setting, which Wharton portrays as dreary, painting a portrait of harsh winters that imprint their character on the natives.

Seating is limited; contact Kelsey Mullen at kmullen@edithwharton.org or at 413.551.5100 to make a reservation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.