Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Robbins-Sponaas, Rhonna J.
Author's Email Address	rhonna@rhonna.net
URN	etd-06292006-123951
Title	Mary Johnston, Discoverer, and Edith Wharton, Citizen in a Land of Letters
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	English, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Dennis D. Moore Committee Chair Anne E. Rowe Committee Member Elna C. Green Committee Member W. T. Lhamon, Jr. Committee Member
Keywords	Virginia Women Writers The Wanderers Cease Firing The Long Roll The Refugees French Ways And Their Meaning A Son At The Front The Marne Fighting France Book Of The Homeless Edith Wharton Mary Johnston
Date of Defense	2006-03-28
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract This text focuses on Edith Wharton and Mary Johnston, with special emphasis upon the latter writer. Both Johnston and Wharton were actively writing during the same period, although in different parts of the world. Wharton spent most of her professional career writing from Europe, particularly France, and carried her Old New York heritage with her until she died. With the exception of short periods in New York, Johnston remained close to her childhood home near Warm Springs, Virginia, and considered herself very much a Southerner. While they shared a common goal in most of their writings—that of influencing their audience and generating change—their methodology differed radically. In essence, they operated from opposite ends of the writing spectrum. The majority of Wharton’s texts fall under what we today classify as literary fiction, but Johnston’s writings crossed a number of genres, including but certainly not limited to historical romance, historical adventure, and historical fiction. A large percentage of her writings fall within the scope of sentimentalism and romance literature, genres Wharton typically made a point of avoiding. This text provides a critical discussion of the two women’s war writings, an overview of their work, and an in-depth analysis of Edith Wharton’s “Writing a War Story” and Mary Johnston’s The Wanderers. It considers the two women as they attempted to influence the world around them via their writing, and how their respective identities are reflected in their texts.
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