The Buccaneers

Praise for The Buccaneers

“Brave, lively, engaging…a fairy-tale novel, miraculouly returned to life.”—The New York Times Book Review

“The Buccaneers brilliantly showcases Wharton near the top of her form.”—Chicago Tribune

“Mainwaring has added gloss to the story’s original elegance and wit, and the novel emerges like a master’s painting from the hands of a highly skilled restorer.”—Leon Edel, author of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning Henry James: A Life

“Mainwaring’s version of The Buccaneers is a tour de force….[She] deserves high marks for her ingenuity, novelistic skill, and critical intelligence.”—USA Today

“A sense of unobtrusive accuracy of tone and detail prevails throughout Ms. Mainwaring’s [writing]….It’s hard to imagine a better writer equipped to take on Edith Wharton.”—The Wall Street Journal

Edith Wharton was born into the upper stratum of New York society in 1862, which provided her with material as a novelist but did not encourage her artistic growth. Educated by tutors and governesses, she was raised for marriage. Her marriage in 1885 to Edward Wharton was an emotional disappointment. She suffered a series of nervous breakdowns, beginning in 1894. In spite of her marriage, she began to write fiction, publishing her first story in 1889. Her first published book was a guide to interior decorating, followed by several novels and story collections. These were written while the Whartons lived in Newport and New York, traveled in Europe, and built their grand home, the Mount, in Lenox, Massachusetts. In Europe, she met Henry James, who became her friend, traveling companion, and critic. The House of Mirth (1905) was a critical and commercial success, as was Ethan Frome (1911). In 1913, the Whartons divorced, and Edith took up permanent residence in France. Her subject remained America, especially the moneyed New York of her youth. Her novel, The Custom of the Country, was published in 1913, and The Age of Innocence won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1921. In her later years, she enjoyed the admiration of a new generation of writers, including Sinclair Lewis and F. Scott Fitzgerald. She wrote some 30 books, including an autobiography, A Backward Glance (1934). She died at her villa near Paris in 1937.

Marion Mainwaring (1922-2015) was an Edith Wharton scholar most notable for having completed Wharton’s unfinished manuscript The Buccaneers in 1993. In addition to her research focused on Wharton, Mainwaring also published several original works including the novels Murder in Pastiche- Or Nine Detectives All at Sea and Murder at Midyears, as well as a biography on Wharton’s lover, Mysteries of Paris- The Quest for Morton Fullerton.

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