Written by 12 American authors, including William Dean Howells, Henry James, and Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, and published in 1908, this novel centers on the romantic attachmentsand detachmentsof the young daughter of the Talbert family. Out of this unpromising plot an engaging story emerges when Freeman transforms the old-maid aunt into a liberated woman and makes her the rival of the younger niece. Writing successive chapters, each author playfully creates problems for the next, and much of the fun lies in watching the writers extricate themselves from one trap and then set another. The Whole Family is an intriguing period piece, an illuminating example of differing conceptions of narrative, and enjoyable to read. Leland Krauth, English Dept., Univ. of Colorado, Boulder
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.