NEW HAVEN — A short story by Edith Wharton titled The Men Who Saved the World has been published in The Strand magazine. The manuscript was recovered from two corrected but undated typescripts located at Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
The story is believed to have been written no earlier than July 1918. The narrative is set at a dinner party in a French chateau towards the conclusion of World War I. The plot depicts wealthy residents resuming prewar routines while combat continues nearby.
Andrew Gulli, editor-in-chief of The Strand, said, "It's always very exciting when something like this turns up. Wharton was a very prolific writer. What struck me about this story was there were two corrected manuscripts, and it just felt very timely." He added, "We live in a time where we're very far away from a lot of horrific events that are happening around the world, and this story sort of encapsulates that mood where there's this beautiful chateau, and people are trying to go back to the old prewar era with the chandeliers and this wonderful dancing, and a dinner party, and not far away the war's still happening."
Gulli said, "Wharton is just wonderful with contrast. There's the table where there were amputations going on, and then it's serving as a dinner table. And also in a generational way, there's the older lady trying for business as usual, trying to go back to the prewar era, almost in denial about what is really happening."
Gulli said, "Then you have Milly, the nurse from the younger generation, who has great knowledge of a lot of the suffering, the fear, the horror of the war; and a young soldier, who I wouldn't say is shell-shocked, but you can feel beneath the surface his great unease, that he's seen the trauma and the horrors of war as well."
Isabelle Parsons, a professor at the British Open University, uncovered the manuscripts and published an analysis in 2023. Parsons said, "In the past decade, news of fresh archival discoveries has frequently thrilled Wharton's casual and critical readers." She added, "The Men Who Saved the World casts a satirical eye over the volunteer efforts of privileged women. Perhaps most remarkably The Men Who Saved the World reads like an experimental attempt – ultimately abandoned by Wharton – at confronting the traumatic effects of warfare through its explicit references to amputation as medical care at the front."
The Strand has previously published works by Raymond Chandler, Graham Greene, and Tennessee Williams. A previously unpublished 1901 play by Wharton, The Shadow of Doubt, was discovered in Texas in 2017.