Old books, new reads

I read all of Edith Wharton’s novel as a teenager. After I finished off the last book — I think I ended with The Buccaneers — I’d still stop by the corner of the library where Wharton’s titles were shelved during every visit, just to see the books and remember the stories and, if I’m being honest, hope that a new one had somehow appeared.

So imagine my delight when, looking through the fiction stacks here at The Mercantile, I discovered a handful of Wharton novels I didn’t know existed!

I thought I’d read all of Edith Wharton, but I’d just read everything in my hometown library, which was basically her greatest hits. Because it’s been around since 1835, the Mercantile collected all of Wharton’s work as it was published and, without the circulation pressures of a public library, has managed to keep them over the last century. So a gem like Madame de Treymes, a novella published in 1907, can sit waiting patiently on the shelf for the right reader to come along. I was delighted to be the first person to check out Madame de Treymes since 1925.

You never know what you’ll find in our stacks. Some of the books might look old, but they still might be the best new-to-you reads.

— Hillary