"This book publishes, for the first time, some 400 letters between America's leading woman of letters, Edith Wharton, and London's most prestigious publishing house, Macmillan, written over a thirty-year period. The meticulously transcribed correspondence highlights Wharton's determination to be taken seriously as a novelist, as well as her exceptionally developed understanding of the 'sociology of text' in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Copious editorial annotation provides valuable contextual information on the socio-economics of the book trade, Wharton and Macmillan's relationships with the leading writers of the time, and Wharton's interventions in the production of her books. The book casts new light on Wharton's working practices, and will be of crucial important for literary scholars. As the complete record of an author-publisher relationship, this book offers readers a valuable and intimate insight into the transatlantic book trade of the period."--Jacket.