"It seemed to Ethan that his heart was bound with cords which an unseen hand was tightening with every tick of the clock."

Finding himself in the small town of Starkfield for the winter, the narrator sets out to learn the tragic story of Ethan Frome. The townspeople, however, are hesitant to tell him much. But one night he seeks shelter from a bad weather in the house of non other than Frome himself.

‘Ethan Frome’ (1911) is the beautifully written story of a loveless marriage and temptation, full of regret and raw emotion. Liam Neeson and Patricia Arquette are the leading roles in the 1993 movie of the same name.

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was an American writer and designer. Her family belonged to the upper class of New York, and the phrase "Keeping up with the Joneses" is said to have referred to them. Wharton’s list of works includes novels like ‘The Age of Innocence’ and ‘Ethan Frome’, and she was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize.