In 2009 the personal papers of Anna Catherine Bahlmann came up for auction. Included in those were 135 letters from Edith Wharton to Bahlmann, who was 13 years older than Wharton and her governess, ...

The arrival at auction in 2009 of the personal papers of Anna Catherine Bahlmann (1849–1916) caused a stir in the literary community because Anna Bahlmann had been a lifelong companion to the American ...

Governesses are favorite characters for readers and have been since the 19th century. The governess heroine has played a role in iconic works of fiction such as Jane Eyre and The Turn of the Screw.

'You may find her difficult," Henry James wrote in 1908 to a friend about Edith Wharton, "but you will find nothing stupid in her and nothing small." Wharton had a genius for observation and the ...