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From Wharton to McClure's to Appleton to Macmillan: Journey of "Summer" from Manuscript to Print

History of the Major Editions of Edith Wharton’s "Summer"

Summer is a novella that Wharton wrote at “a high pitch of creative joy” while she was working as a volunteer during the First World War. In A Backward Glance, Wharton describes her process of writing Summer:

Gradually my intellectual unrest sobered down into activity. I began to write a short novel, “Summer”, as remote as possible in setting and subject from the scenes about me; and the work made my other tasks seem lighter. The tale was written in a high pitch of creative joy, but amid a thousand interruptions, and while the rest of my being was steeped in the tragic realities of the war; yet I do not remember ever visualizing with more intensity the inner scene, or the creatures peopling it. (356)

No wonder Summer was one of Wharton's five favorites among her own works (Lewis 490). Summer was first published in serialized form in McClure’s Magazine from February 1917 to August 1917. In the same year, D. Appleton and Company published this novel in book form in July. The publication of the First American Edition of Summer marks Wharton’s move from Scribner’s to Appleton since “[t]here were complicated negotiations over Summer with Scribner’s (Lee 513). Rattray informs us that one of the reasons of this move was Scribner’s refusal to publish Summer in their house magazine (xv). In his biography of Wharton, R.W.B. Lewis mentions that “since [Charles] Scribner had already agreed to fall magazine publication of Bunner Sisters, . . . he cabled back [to Wharton] that he could not "see place for new short novel [Summer]” (395). However, Wharton’s letters to Frederick Macmillan reveal that she was not pleased with Appleton’s work. In one of her letters to Macmillan, Wharton mentions that she has “received a copy of the American edition of “Summer,” of which [she] was not able to correct the proof [herself],” and it resulted in “several bad misprints” (The Correspondence 191).
Even though Appleton’s edition of Summer is almost identical with McClure’s Magazine edition (some of the differences between these two editions will be illustrated later in this project), it appears that Wharton was not much bothered by McClure’s work as she was by Appleton’s. Shafquat Towheed informs us that Wharton privileged the published book and “was not prepared to accept . . . lowering of standards for the volume publications” (“An Appreciative” 46). He also mentions that a common pattern is noticeable in Wharton’s publication process: “initial magazine serialization for the American market, followed by (sometimes significant) revision and volume publication, and finally publication in London for British market, with the last few errors and omissions corrected, often at the very last minute” (“An Appreciative” 46). And Summer is no exception to this. In case of Summer, the “significant” revision happens in the First British Edition that the comparative charts of this project will highlight.
Since the First British Edition (FBE) was still under production when Wharton received the copy of the First American Edition (FAE), Wharton could send some corrections to Macmillan that she wanted the First British Edition to incorporate (Rattray xxxii). The copy of the FAE of Summer, that was found in Wharton’s home library in The Mount, “is marked with 50 corrections” (Rattray xxxii). Even though it is not certain from the letters how many of those corrections were sent to Macmillan, but a comparison between Wharton’s proofread version of the First American Edition and the First British Edition illustrates that majority of Wharton’s corrections have been incorporated into the First British Edition. A comparative chart is included at the end of this section. The chart demonstrates all the corrections that Wharton made on her copy of the First American Edition of Summer. Among the 50 corrections, 35 corrections were incorporated into the First British Edition and 15 corrections were not incorporated. However, as the complete chart illustrates, in case of some of these 15 corrections, the editor has taken Wharton’s suggestion for an alteration but used a different word or punctuation. Among the 35 corrections that were incorporated, 33 corrections were incorporated as they were and 2 of them were incorporated in slightly modified form. 2 of the modifications were done because of the difference between British and American spelling conventions:

Chapter & Criteria	*Summer, First American Edition (FAE)*	Summer, First American Edition with Wharton’s corrections (EWPFAE)	*Summer, First British Edition (FBE)*
Ch 6 Spell Error (British spelling is not hyphenated)	. . . into the beach-woods . . . (79)	. . . into the beech-woods . . . (79)	. . . into the beechwoods . . . (40)
Ch 18 Word Ins (Only difference is the space between “on” and “to”)	It lay enclosed in his strong palm and she felt a ring that was too big for her being slipped on her thin finger. (278)	It lay enclosed in his strong palm and she felt a ring that was too big for her being slipped onto her thin finger. (278)	It lay enclosed in his strong palm, and she felt a ring that was too big for her being slipped on to her thin finger. (147)

All the corrections made by Wharton are meant for making the FBE more aligned with the original Manuscript of Summer, correcting spelling or wrong word, and maintaining grammatical accuracy and coherence, except one instance where she replaces “daughter” with “darling”. However, while the editor of the FBE incorporates Wharton’s suggestion of changing the word “daughter,” they did not incorporate the word that Wharton suggested. Instead of using Wharton’s suggested word “darling,” they used “treasure.” Reading Wharton’s alteration (from “daughter” to “darling”) in relation to the other corrections that she made on her copy of the FAE may not prompt us to look for its effect on our understanding of the relationship between Lawyer Royall and Charity Royall. However, reading the alteration made in the FBE (from “daughter” to “treasure”) in relation to a number of other alterations made in the FBE prompts us to reconsider the relationship between Lawyer Royall and Charity Royall in a new light. For a detailed discussion on this, see the Literary Analysis section of this book.

Chapter & Criteria	*Summer* Wharton’s Manuscript (MSS) *YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 359	*Summer,* *McClure’s Magazine* Edition (MME) *Issue May 1917	*Summer, First American Edition (FAE)*	Summer, First American Edition with Wharton’s corrections (EWPFAE)	*Summer, First British Edition (FBE)*
Ch 10 Word Change FBE followed EWPFAE (Takes Wharton’s suggestion of changing the word, but did not use the word that Wharton suggested)	“. . . Here’s gran’pa’s little girl come to take him home!” (175)	“. . . Here’s gran’pa’s little daughter come to take him home!” (64)	“. . . Here’s grandpa’s little daughter come to take him home!” (150)	“. . . Here’s grandpa’s little darling come to take him home!” (150)	“. . . Here’s gran’pa’s little treasure come to take him home!” (77)

Wharton’s letter, that requests Macmillan to make some alterations in the FBE, refers to only two sections that she wanted Macmillan to edit. Wharton writes,

I write to ask if you will kindly send me a typed copy of the last paragraph of chap. XV/beginning “almost without conscious thought” &c &c.
At the same time I should like an alteration made in the same chapter, in the conversations between D. Merkle & Charity Royall. After the point in the dialogue where D. Merkle says: “Oh, very well. Five dollars, please,” kindly insert the paragraph I enclose on a separate page, & strike out the alternative reading in the MS. (The Correspondence 191)

In response to this letter, Macmillan sent Wharton three sheets for making the corrections and asked her to resend them as soon as possible (The Correspondence 191-192). However, a comparison between the MSS, MME, the FAE and the FBE of Summer reveals that only one sentence has been altered in the middle of the last paragraph of chapter XV to correct the mistake that was made in the FAE. No wonder Wharton was displeased with Appleton’s work! The chart below provides all four renditions of the last paragraph of chapter XV:

Symbols for the transcription of the MSS
For the transcriptions of the manuscript, I have used the following symbols. I have taken these symbols from the list of symbols created by the editors of Complete Works of Edith Wharton project.

<word> - Deleted word in the MSS
^word^ - Word inserted above the line in the MSS
Word[?] – Conjectural reading of a confusing word in the MSS
[?] – One illegible word in the MSS
<[?]> - One illegible deleted word in the MSS

MSS, 148-149, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 358	MME, 54, July 1917
Almost without conscious thought her decision had been reached & as her eyes had followed the <ring[?]> ^girdle^ of the hills the <thought> mind had also travelled the same old <circle> ^round^. She supposed it was something in her blood that made the Mountain the only answer to her questioning, the inevitable <answer> escape from all that hemmed her in & beset her. At any rate it began to loom again in her mind as it loomed against the <heavy[?] sky> ^rainy dawn^; & the longer she looked at it the more clearly ^she^ understood that ^now^ at last she was ^really^ going there.	Almost without conscious thought her decision had been reached; as her eyes had followed the circle of the hills her mind had also traveled the old round. She supposed it was something in her blood that made the Mountain the only answer to her questioning, the inevitable escape from all that hemmed her in and beset her. At any rate it began to loom again in her mind as it loomed against the rainy dawn; and the longer she looked at it the more clearly she understood that now at last she was really going there.
FAE, 236	FBE, 123
Almost without conscious thought her decision had been reached; as her eyes had followed the circle of the hills her mind had also travelled the old round. She supposed it was something in her blood that made the Mountain the only answer to her questioning, the inevitable escape from all that hemmed her in and beset her. At any rate it began to loom against the rainy dawn; and the longer she looked at it the more clearly she understood that now at last she was really going there.	Almost without conscious thought her decision had been reached; as her eyes had followed the circle of the hills her mind had also travelled the old round. She supposed it was something in her blood that made the Mountain the only answer to her questioning, the inevitable escape from all that hemmed her in and beset her. At any rate it began to loom again in her mind as it loomed against the rainy dawn; and the longer she looked at it the more clearly she understood that now at last she was really going there.

Also, a comparative study of the MSS, the MME, the FAE, and the FBE makes it uncertain whether the FBE included the other change that Wharton requested in this letter. The paragraph after “Five dollars, please,” is same in the MME, in the FAE, and in the FBE (except one spelling in the MME and deletion of one preposition in the FAE). However, the concerned paragraph in all three editions look significantly different from the MSS. But the above-mentioned letter was sent on August 1917 after the publication of Appleton’s edition. Therefore, it is not certain if Wharton suggested a different paragraph that the FAE did not include or suggested the same paragraph that the MME and the FAE included in their editions (which, as the chart shows, was already different from the one in the MSS). [I didn’t get a change to look at the pasted copies of shredded papers in the MSS yet. A closer look may help me find the alternative paragraph that Wharton mentioned in her letter]. Below is a comparative chart that includes all four renditions of that paragraph:

MSS, 139, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 358	MME, 53, July 1917
“Oh, very well; Five dollars, please.” Charity looked ^helplessly^ at her tight lips and right face. She had borrowed <five> ^four^ dollars from Ally, but two had gone <in[?]> ^for her^ railway. ticket, & it had never occurred to her that ^a doctor’s fee could ^ <the> <a fee of more than> ^exceed^ two dollars. <would be required of her.> Note: The “.” after “railway” is in the MSS. Not sure if it was done accidentally or an impression from the reverse page.	“Oh, very well. Five dollars, please.” Charity looked helplessly at the doctor’s tight lips and rigid face. Her last savings had gone in repaying Ally for the cost of Miss Balch’s ruined blouse, and she had had to borrow four dollars from her friend to pay for her railway ticket and cover the doctor’s fee. It had never occurred to her that medical advice could cost more than two dollars.
FAE, 226	FBE, 119
“Oh, very well. Five dollars, please.” Charity looked helplessly at the doctor’s tight lips and rigid face. Her last savings had gone in repaying Ally for the cost of Miss Balch’s ruined blouse, and she had had to borrow four dollars from her friend to pay for her railway ticket and cover the doctor’s fee. It had never occurred to her that medical advice could cost more than two dollars.	“Oh, very well. Five dollars, please.” Charity looked helplessly at the doctor’s tight lips and rigid face. Her last savings had gone in repaying Ally for the cost of Miss Balch’s ruined blouse, and she had had to borrow four dollars from her friend to pay her railway ticket and cover the doctor’s fee. It had never occurred to her that medical advice could cost more than two dollars.

However, the editor of Macmillan made massive amount of alterations in the First British Edition of Summer. The complete comparative chart in the next section of this book has 592 entries and many of these entries include sections with more than one alteration. However, from Wharton’s letter to Macmillan where she praises the FBE of Summer, demonstrates that she gladly accepted the alterations made to her novel, even though some of the alterations can potentially change how we read the novel (See Literary Analysis section for a discussion on the interpretive possibilities of those alterations).
Since I received the manuscript and the first three installments of Summer in McClure’s Magazine late, I could not incorporate data from them in the complete list of 50 corrections. However, I have created this short list that includes first 10 corrections suggested by Wharton and compares the sections from all renditions of Summer. Please note that, I have only highlighted the sections that Edith Wharton corrected in her copy of the FAE; however, I have provided the full sentence in some cases so that you can see the other changes that occurred in those sections as Summer moved from MS to the print editions.

No.	Chapter & Criteria	*Summer, Wharton’s Manuscript* (MSS)	*Summer, McClure’s Magazine* Edition (MME)	*Summer, First American Edition (FAE)*	*Summer, First American Edition with Wharton’s corrections (EWPFAE)*	*Summer*, First British Edition (FBE)
	Ch 2 Word Del FBE followed EWPFAE	. . . at intervals, the L[?] or “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” or Longfellow. (19, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 351) Note: The MSS does not have “Opening of Chestnut Burr.” It has a different book title that begins with “L.” I could not figure out the spelling, so I put a question mark after “L.”	. . . at intervals, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” or “Opening of the Chestnut Burr,” or Longfellow. (10, Feb 1917)	. . . at intervals, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” or “Opening of a Chestnut Burr,” or Longfellow. (22)	. . . at intervals, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” or “Opening a Chestnut Burr,” or Longfellow. (22)	. . . at intervals, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” or “Opening a Chestnut Burr,” or Longfellow. (11)
	Ch 2 Punc Change FBE followed EWPFAE	. . . the crash of the cupboard panel. But instead . . . (29, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 352)	. . . the crash of the cupboard panel. But instead . . . (10, Feb 1917)	. . . the crash of the cupboard panel, but instead . . . (29)	. . . the crash of the cupboard panel. But instead . . . (29)	. . . the crash of the cupboard panel. But instead . . . (14-15)
	Ch 2 Punc Ins FBE followed EWPFAE	“See here,” he said at length, as though utterance were difficult, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you; I’d ought to have said it before. (34, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 352)	“See here,” he said at length, in a low voice, as though utterance were difficult, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you; I’d ought to have said it before. (51, Feb 1917)	“See here,” he said at length as though utterance were difficult, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you; I’d ought to have said it before. (33)	“See here,” he said at length, as though utterance were difficult, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you; I’d ought to have said it before. (33)	“See here,” he said at length, as though utterance were difficult, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you. I’d ought to have said it before. (17)
	Ch 5 Word Change FBE did not follow EWPFAE	The thought brought him back to the central point in her mind . . . (66, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 353)	The thought brought him back to the central point in her mind . . . (22, March 1917)	The thought brought him back to the central point in her mind . . . (60)	The thought brought her back to the central point in her mind . . . (60)	The thought brought him back to the central point in her mind . . . (30)
	Ch 6 Spell Error FBE followed EWPFAE (however, since FBE followed British spelling convention, the hyphen is removed)	. . . into the beech-woods . . . (87, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 354)	. . . into the beech-woods . . . (63, March 1917)	. . . into the beach-woods . . . (79)	. . . into the beech-woods . . . (79)	. . . into the beechwoods . . . (40)
	Ch 6 Word Change FBE did not follow EWPFAE	She saw Mr. Royall’s room, with the high-backed horsehair chair, the faded rad carpet, the row of books on a hanging shelf, the engraving of “The Surrender of Burgoyne” over the mantelpiece, and the mat with a brown & white spaniel on a border of moss-green which lay before the stove. (95, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 354)	She saw Mr. Royall’s room, with the high-backed horsehair chair, the faded rad carpet, the row of books on a shelf, the engraving of “The Surrender of Burgoyne” over the stove, and the mat with a brown and white spaniel on a moss-green border. (64 March 1917)	She saw Mr. Royall’s room, with the high-backed horsehair chair, the faded rad carpet, the row of books on a shelf, the engraving of “The Surrender of Burgoyne” over the stove, and the mat with a brown and white spaniel on a moss-green border. (85)	She saw Mr. Royall’s room, with the high-backed horsehair chair, the faded rad carpet, the row of books on a shelf, the engraving of “The Surrender of Burgoyne” over the stove, and the mat with a brown and white spaniel in a moss-green border. (85)	She saw Mr. Royall’s room, with the high-backed horsehair chair, the faded rad carpet, the row of books on a shelf, the engraving of “The Surrender of Burgoyne” over the stove, and the mat with a brown and white spaniel in a moss-green border. (44)
	Ch 7 Phrs Ins FBE followed EWPFAE	. . . and Miss Hatchard, always full of scruples, & of scruples about her scruples . . . (105, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 355)	. . . and Miss Hatchard, always full of scruples about her scruples . . . (20, April 1917)	. . . and Miss Hatchard, always full of scruples about her scruples . . . (93)	. . . and Miss Hatchard, always full of scruples, and of scruples about her scruples . . . (93)	. . . and Miss Hatchard, always full of scruples, and of scruples about her scruples . . . (48)
	Ch 7 Punc Ins FBE followed EWPFAE	The impatient sweeping aside of the drawing-board revealed a new mood, & suggested a sudden discouragement or distaste for his work. and she wondered. . . (118, 105, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 355)	The impatient sweeping aside of the drawing-board seemed to reseal a new mood. The gesture suggested sudden discouragement, or distaste for his work and she wondered. . . (22, April 1917)	The impatient sweeping aside of the drawing-board seemed to reseal a new mood. The gesture suggested sudden discouragement, or distaste for his work and she wondered. . . (102)	The impatient sweeping aside of the drawing-board seemed to reseal a new mood. The gesture suggested sudden discouragement, or distaste for his work, and she wondered. . . (102)	The impatient sweeping aside of the drawing-board seemed to reseal a new mood. The gesture suggested sudden discouragement, or distaste for his work, and she wondered. . . (102) (53)
	Ch 7 Punc Ins FBE did not follow EWPFAE (FBE used “semicolon” instead of “comma”)	. . . unless he opened the window; & before he did that she would have time to slip across the pass & lose herself in the shadow of the trees (122, 105, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 355) Note: This section appears in a different paragraph in MSS. In MME, FAE, and FBE, this section is part of a paragraph beginning with “Harney was still unaware of her presence.” However, in the MSS, this para begins on p. 119. And the concerned section begins 3 pages letter in a paragraph beginning with “He was still sitting in the same altitude . . .” (122)	. . . unless he opened the window and before that she would have time to slip away and be lost in the shadow of the trees. (22, April 1917)	. . . unless he opened the window and before that she would have time to slip away and be lost in the shadow of the trees. (104)	. . . opened the window, and before that she would have time to slip away and be lost in the shadow of the trees. (104)	. . . opened the window; and before that she would have time to slip away and be lost in the shadow of the trees. (54)
	Ch 7 Punc Ins FBE did not follow EWPFAE	Just so, Charity had seen him lie beside her on the grass or the pine-needles, his eyes fixed on the sky, and pleasure flashing over his face, like the flickers of sun shed on it between the branches. (123, 105, YCAL MSS 42 box 12 f. 355) Note: This section appears in a different paragraph in MSS. In MME, FAE, and FBE, this section is part of a paragraph beginning with “Harney was still unaware of her presence.” However, in the MSS, this para begins on p. 119. And the concerned section begins 3 pages letter in a paragraph beginning with “He was still sitting in the same altitude . . .” (122)	Just so, Charity had seen him at her side on the grass or the pine-needles, his eyes fixed on the sky, and pleasure flashing over his face like the flickers of sun the branches shed on it. (22, April 1917)	Just so, Charity had seen him at her side on the grass or the pine-needles, his eyes fixed on the sky, and pleasure flashing over his face like the flickers of sun the branches shed on it. (104)	Just so, Charity had seen him at her side, on the grass or the pine-needles, his eyes fixed on the sky, and pleasure flashing over his face like the flickers of sun the branches shed on it. (104)	Just so, Charity had seen him at her side on the grass or the pine-needles, his eyes fixed on the sky, and pleasure flashing over his face like the flickers of sun the branches shed on it. (54)

Comparative Chart: The First American Edition of Summer, The First American Edition with Wharton’s Corrections, and The First British Edition

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