Edith Wharton (Women of Achievement)

Grade 7-10 Contained within this physically attractive volume is a mediocre text, wordy and repetitious, internally inconsistent, and containing several errors and confusions of fact. Leach has a strong feminist bias, such that numerous events seem twisted to fit his philosophy. He quotes freely from adult biographies and reminiscences, abbreviating many and acknowledging none (save for a short list of ``Further Reading''); many of the quotations are college-level and above in comprehension and will be beyond readers' grasp. Most damagingly, Leach fails to convey a real sense of who Wharton was. The book is too much a superficial recital of events, with little insight into Wharton's complex personality. Most teens' introduction to Wharton is through required reading of Ethan Frome , probably little inspiration for picking up any biography of this turn-of-the-century author outside of class assignments. Ann W. Moore, Lane Road Library, Columbus
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