"The Touchstone" by Edith Wharton (January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) is her second book and it was published in 1900. It was also published under the title "A Gift From The Grave". This short novel is about Stephen Glennard, a protagonist. He is suddenly impoverished and unable to marry the woman he loves. He sells private letters a former admirer had written to him. He does this before she becomes a famous author. He is later overcome by guilt for betraying a woman that had once loved him.

Literary critics and review aggregators have said that "The Touchstone" was the first of Wharton's many stories describing life in old New York.

Wharton's works "The House of Mirth" (1905), "Ethan Frome" (1911), and "The Age of Innocence" (1920) were each made into a major motion picture. Respectively, the film "The House of Mirth", a 2000 drama, was written and directed by Terence Davies. It stars Gillian Anderson and Dan Aykroyd with support from Eric Stoltz and others. The movie "Ethan Frome", a 1993 British-American romantic historical drama, was directed by John Madden. The stars are Liam Neeson, Patricia Arquette, Joan Allen and Tate Donovan. "The Age of Innocence" is a 1993 American historical romantic drama film which is set in New York and was directed by Martin Scorsese. Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder are the stars.

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