"Essays at the center of the collection explore Wharton's textual relationships with authors whom she knew well - especially Henry James but also Paul Bourget, F. Marion Crawford, and Vivienne de Watteville - and those she knew only through their writing, including Grace Aguilar, George Gissing, and Hugh Walpole. Tintner provides a detailed analysis of the complex interplay between Wharton and James - how they influenced each other and how some of their writings operate as homages or personal jokes."--BOOK JACKET. "Tintner concludes by considering Wharton's literary legacy and how Wharton has figured in the imaginations of recent writers, including Richard Howard, Louis Auchincloss, and Cathleen Schine. Tintner finds some part of Wharton's personality or work evoked in a number of contemporary works and argues that this presence signals the beginning of an increasing influence."--BOOK JACKET.