The Glimpses of the Moon.

WHARTON, Edith.

Item Number: 56004

New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1922.

First edition of Wharton’s sweeping epic. Octavo, original blue cloth. Contemporary name to the front pastedwon, near fine in a near dust jacket with light wear and closed tears to the extremities. Uncommon in this condition.

Set in the 1920s, The Glimpses of the Moon details the romantic misadventures of Nick Lansing and Susy Branch, a couple with the right connections but not much in the way of funds. They devise a shrewd bargain: they'll marry and spend a year or so sponging off their wealthy friends, honeymooning in their mansions and villas. As Susy explains, "We should really, in a way, help more than hamper each other. We both know the ropes so well; what one of us didn't see the other might -- in the way of opportunities, I mean." The other part of the plan states that if either one of them meets someone who can advance them socially, they're each free to dissolve the marriage. It was made into a silent film of the same name in 1923, but this is now lost.