Sign-In
Cart
Parties: Scenes From Contemporary New York Life
Paperback
General FictionLiterary Fiction
ISBN13: 9781025895383
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 280
Weight: 0.87
Height: 0.59 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
Parties: Scenes From Contemporary New York Life is a cynical and sparkling exploration of the frantic hedonism that defined the end of the Jazz Age. Set against the backdrop of Prohibition-era New York, Carl Van Vechten's novel captures a social circle of weary socialites, artists, and hangers-on who navigate a relentless cycle of cocktail parties, nightclubs, and fleeting romances. The narrative serves as both a vivid chronicle of a specific cultural moment and a sharp satire of the spiritual vacuity hidden beneath the era's glamour.
Through the eyes of characters like David and Rilda Westcott, the work delves into the complexities of modern relationships and the desperate pursuit of pleasure in a world teetering on the edge of the Great Depression. Van Vechten's prose is noted for its sophistication and its unflinching look at the excesses of Manhattan's elite, touching upon themes of boredom, disillusionment, and the search for identity. Parties: Scenes From Contemporary New York Life remains a significant literary work of urban life in the early 20th century, offering readers a sophisticated glimpse into the cocktails, conversations, and tragedies of a lost generation.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
3 different editions
Also available
Also in
Literary Fiction
Elizabeth Spencer: Novels & Stories (Loa #344): The Voice at the Back Door / The Light in the Piazza / Knights and Dragons / Stories
Spencer, Elizabeth
Hardcover
James Fenimore Cooper: The Leatherstocking Tales Vol. 1 (Loa #26): The Pioneers / The Last of the Mohicans / The Prairie
Cooper, James Fenimore
Hardcover
The Underworld U.S.A. Trilogy, Volume I: American Tabloid, the Cold Six Thousand; Introduction by Thomas Mallon
Ellroy, James
Hardcover
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Paperback
Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams: Short Stories, Prose, and Diary Excerpts
Plath, Sylvia
Paperback
The Patrick Melrose Novels: Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, and Mother's Milk
St Aubyn, Edward
Paperback