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A Previously Unpublished Edith Wharton Story Sees the Light of Day

The Times Literary Supplement runs “The Children’s Hour,” about a priest’s afternoon
Edith_Newbold_Jones_Wharton_in_hat_with_fur_muff_(cropped)

Good morning. The Times Literary Supplement publishes a previously unpublished story by Edith Wharton. Sarah Whitehead introduces it: “In her fiction, the Catholic church, and Catholic priests in particular, make regular appearances, but these are often uncomfortable ones . . . Even the story ‘New Years Day’ (1924), one of the more understanding depictions of the Catholic Church in Wharton’s oeuvre, appears to contain an instance of the misuse of a sacrament. Here, after a serious illness, the dying Lizzie Hazeldean unexpectedly turns to Catholicism to provide her with the solace of confessing her extramarital affair and the absolution of her sin. ‘The Children’s Hour’, which has remained unpublished until now, charts an afternoon in the life of a Catholic priest. It is a noteworthy exception to these generally negative, or at least suspicious renderings of the Catholic church and its clergy.”

In other news: Raphael used to enjoy “extraordinary esteem,” Michael Prodger writes, eclipsing the other Old Masters: “Michelangelo was too mannered, Leonardo too distracted, Titian too much of a colourist and not enough of a draughtsman — while the courtly boy from Urbino was the master of the grand manner who combined harmony of colour with perfection of design and an all-encompassing sweep of the imagination.” What happened?

When you buy Maurizio Cattelan’s artwork Comedian—which, if you don’t remember, is (or was?) a banana taped to a wall—what do you receive for your $150,000? A certificate of authenticity and a “14-page list of instructions, with diagrams, on how the banana should be installed and displayed.” But no banana, and no tape.

Conrad Black’s wife—Barbara Amiel—forthcoming and apparently scathing memoir, Friends and Enemies, contains lists of both.

Joseph Epstein on fame: “I recall one night, standing before a urinal during an intermission at the Chicago Symphony and discovering Garrison Keillor at the adjoining urinal. He was taller than I had imagined—they apparently grow big along Lake Wobegon—and he had a ticked-off look on his face. I recognized him because he’d been on PBS that day, but I said nothing to him. Back in the foyer with my wife, a man came up to me and asked, “Aren’t you Joseph Epstein, the writer?” After I allowed that I was, he said some kind words about my writing. I thanked him and looked over at Garrison Keillor, who still had that ticked-off look on his face. Was it there, I now wonder, because no one recognized him?”

Cromwell’s Protectorate reconsidered: “At the outset of the Interregnum, England declared itself a Commonwealth—a flexible term that is, of course, still in use for four US states. For four years, the constitutional future of England remained uncertain, while Oliver Cromwell wrestled with what was by now a unicameral House of Commons. Then, in 1653, Oliver Cromwell acceded to a petition from Parliament to accept the Crown. There was no question of him accepting the offer, though that possibility remained open. Instead, he chose the title of Lord Protector, thereby enabling historians to create a new name for the English polity: the Protectorate. Paul Lay, the gifted editor of the independent monthly magazine History Today, has written a highly accessible account of Cromwell’s Protectorate. Ironically, this strange interlude—the only time in British history that England has been ruled by anyone other than a monarch—paved the way for what later became known as constitutional monarchy. It was the success of this new and flexible system of governance that ensured the survival of the British Crown when so many other European monarchies were swept away between 1789 and 1918.”

Winston Groom, the author of Forrest Gump, has died. He was 77: “A longtime contributor to Garden & Gun, Groom was the author of more than twenty novels and nonfiction books that covered topics ranging from the Civil War and World War II to the American West and Alabama football.”

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, as you all know, I’m sure. I’ll leave it to others to round up the obituaries and profiles. Here, however, is a short piece on her love for opera: “We did Scalia/Ginsburg at Glimmerglass, about their friendship, and before Scalia died, there were many great performances, when we would have opening nights in Washington, and Scalia would sit on one side of the aisle and she sat in the other. They would be friendly and jocular and lovey-dovey at the opera, and you knew the next day they would be giving opposing opinions.

Photos: Nebraska

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