Edith Wharton's The Glimpses of the Moon was published in 1922, a year after becoming the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for The Age of Innocence. Too many years have passed since I've read any of Wharton's novels to compare and contrast, but I do know The Glimpses of the Moon was written with a much lighter touch and has a happy ending, something you don't often see in a Wharton novel. I suppose it could almost be called a comic novel detailing the romantic misadventures of two Americans abroad. Perhaps because it was written just a few years after the end of the First World War, Wharton needed something to combat the gloomy mood that must have been pervasive at the time.
Nick and Susy Lansing both come from socially prominent families, yet their bank accounts don't match the lifestyles they are attempting to pursue. They come up with a scheme where they'll marry and live off the wealth of their more fortunate friends and the checks that roll in after the wedding. They figure they can get by for a year or so, and if a better offer (in the form of a richer match) comes along, they agree to amicably split. I guess they're known in high society as "hangers on". They do love each other, but I'm not sure if they realize just how much until it's too late.
They begin their honeymoon on Lake Como, where a friend has offered them his villa for a month. Nick will work on his novel, he hopes to earn a living with his writing, and Susy takes care of the other daily details. She's adept in the art of "managing", but it will eventually get her into trouble. The first signs of a crack in the foundation come when they prepare to move on to Venice, and Susy packs a box of expensive cigars the owner left. Nick has just enough of a conscious that he maddens when he sees them, as they're not his, but Susy believes it's better to take them than leave them for the next guests. Already we see a difference in attitudes between the two--just how far is it okay to take advantage?
Susy encounters a real moral dilemma when she discovers the palazzo in Venice promised them comes with strings attached. Ellie Vanderlyn has left not only her daughter for the Lansings to keep an eye on, but four letters to be mailed to her husband. While the Lansings are honeymooning, Ellie is off having an affair and Susy is meant to help her cover things up. Nick need not be told. Of course Susy recognizes the risks, but what are they to do? They have little money, and Susy feels they have few options. In the end she deceives her husband and will be called out for it later. I don't want to give away any more of the plot, and ruin the denouement if you've not yet read the book, but the Lansings will drift far apart before coming to the realization of what's really important.
As you expect with a novel by Edith Wharton she turns a keen eye on high society and brings to light their foibles and follies. Money may buy Venetian palazzos, but the inhabitants seem to be morally bankrupt. Are any of them really happy? After Ellie Vanderlyn returns and declares her marriage to be over, as she's found an even richer man, Susy calls her actions abominable.
"'You're very cruel, Susy--so cruel and dreadful that I hardly know how to answer you,' she stammered. 'But you simply don't know what you're talking about. As if anybody ever had all the money they wanted!' She wiped her dark-rimmed eyes with a cautious handkerchief, glanced at herself in the mirror, and added magnanimously: 'But I shall try to forget what you said'."
I wondered while I was reading, why the concept of working hadn't occurred to Susy and Nick (I won't tell you if they're enlightened at the end). This may be a comic romantic novel, but don't expect fluff. She very deftly writes about marriage and money and contrasts what value marriage has with or without the jewelry, homes and bank accounts. She very cleverly leaves it up to the reader to contrast wealthy characters, or those that come into wealth, with those that must work to get by. Susy and Nick may be friends to these Society people, but at times they're treated as little more than servants. Even the children in the novel reflect their upbringing and the values of their parents and having material wealth doesn't necessarily buy happiness as we all know. The Lansings seem to learn the most valuable lessons from the poorest characters in the story.
I expect anything by Edith Wharton to be good, and I wasn't disappointed here. While this may not be her strongest novel, it is certainly a very worthy and entertaining read. You can read more about the novel here and follow the discussion here.