The Bolted Door
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Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton (1862–1937) was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Having grown up in an upper-class, tightly controlled society known as “Old New York” at a time when women were discouraged from achieving anything beyond a proper marriage, Wharton broke through these strictures to become one of that society’s fiercest critics as well as one of America’s greatest writers. The author of more than 40 books in 40 years, Wharton’s oeuvre includes classic works of American literature such as The House of Mirth, The Custom of the Country, The Age of Innocence, and Ethan Frome, as well as authoritative works on architecture, gardens, interior design, and travel.
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The Bolted Door - Edith Wharton
THE BOLTED DOOR
..................
Edith Wharton
YURITA PRESS
Thank you for reading. In the event that you appreciate this book, please consider sharing the good word(s) by leaving a review, or connect with the author.
This book is a work of fiction; its contents are wholly imagined.
All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.
Copyright © 2015 by Edith Wharton
Interior design by Pronoun
Distribution by Pronoun
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
The Bolted Door
By
Edith Wharton
The Bolted Door
Published by Yurita Press
New York City, NY
First published 1909
Copyright © Yurita Press, 2015
All rights reserved
Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
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INTRODUCTION
..................
IN 1921, THE PULITZER PRIZE was awarded to Edith Wharton for The Age of Innocence, making Wharton the first woman to win the prestigious honor. But Wharton, who wrote several novels, poems, and short stories, was far more than just a writer. Wharton was a well-regarded intellectual who could count among her friends great writers like Henry James, as well as Teddy Roosevelt and Sinclair Lewis. Wharton also had a famous meeting with F. Scott Fitzgerald. Wharton was also a designer who loved architecture, as evidenced by her cherished and famed residences on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Bolted Door
I
..................
HUBERT GRANICE, PACING THE LENGTH of his pleasant lamp-lit library, paused to compare his watch with the clock on the chimney-piece.
Three minutes to eight.
In exactly three minutes Mr. Peter Ascham, of the eminent legal firm of Ascham and Pettilow, would have his punctual hand on the door-bell of the flat. It was a comfort to reflect that Ascham was so punctual — the suspense was beginning to make his host nervous. And the sound of the door-bell would be the beginning of the end — after that there’d be no going back, by God — no going back!
Granice resumed his pacing. Each time he reached the end of the room opposite the door he caught his reflection in the Florentine mirror above the fine old walnut credence he had picked up at Dijon — saw himself spare, quick-moving, carefully brushed and dressed, but furrowed, gray about the temples, with a stoop which he corrected by a spasmodic straightening of the shoulders whenever a glass confronted him: a tired middle-aged man, baffled, beaten, worn out.
As he summed himself up thus for the third or fourth time the door opened and he turned with a thrill of relief to greet his guest. But it was only the man-servant who entered, advancing silently over the mossy surface of the old Turkey rug.
Mr. Ascham telephones, sir, to say he’s unexpectedly detained and can’t be here till eight-thirty.
Granice made a curt gesture of annoyance. It was becoming harder and harder for him to control these reflexes. He turned on his heel, tossing to the servant over his shoulder: Very good. Put off dinner.
Down his spine he felt the man’s injured stare. Mr. Granice had always been so mild-spoken to his people — no doubt the odd change in his manner had already been noticed and discussed below stairs. And very likely they suspected the cause. He stood drumming on the writing-table till he heard the servant go out; then he threw himself into a chair, propping his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his locked hands.
Another half hour alone with it!
He wondered irritably what could have detained his guest. Some professional matter, no doubt — the punctilious lawyer would have allowed nothing less to interfere with a dinner engagement, more especially since Granice, in his note, had said: I shall want a little business chat afterward.
But what professional matter could have come up at that unprofessional hour? Perhaps some other soul in misery had called on the lawyer; and, after