Unfinished Edith Wharton Story About World War I Published

An unfinished short story by Edith Wharton titled "The Men Who Saved the World" appears Friday in the new issue of The Strand Magazine. The story centers on a young American nurse attending a dinner party at a French chateau near a battlefield. Guests discuss resuming social gatherings while artillery sounds remain audible in the distance.

Background on the Author Wharton lived in Paris when World War I began in 1914.

She organized workrooms for seamstresses who had lost jobs, established hostels for refugees, and reported from the front lines for Scribner's Magazine. She later wrote the novel "A Son at the Front," published after the war.

The narrative follows the nurse seated next to a war hero who describes the "catastrophic horror and waste" he witnessed nearby. The hostess inquires whether dancing might occur at the gathering. Strand Managing Editor Andrew Gulli notes in an introduction that the story raises questions about the cost of ignoring events beyond domestic settings.

The work is believed to have been written in 1918. Wharton scholar Julie Olin-Ammentorp stated she is unsure why the author left the story unfinished.