Project Gutenberg 2008-01-03 Public domain in the USA. 413 Wharton, Edith 1862 1937 Wharton, Edith Newbold Jones Olivieri, David Xingu Produced by David Widger "Xingu" by Edith Wharton is a short story written in the early 20th century. This witty and insightful narrative explores the theme of intellectual pretension through a gathering of the "Lunch Club," a group of women who pride themselves on their cultural pursuits and discussions. The story delves into the dynamics of their interactions and the social pressures that drive them to uphold a facade of knowledge and sophistication. In the story, the members of the Lunch Club excitedly prepare for the visit of the esteemed author Osric Dane, hoping to impress her with their cultural understanding. However, their discussions become increasingly absurd and comical as they misinterpret the nature of "Xingu," initially believing it to be a profound subject of debate. The story captures the absurdity of their pretensions as they struggle to engage with Dane, while one member, Mrs. Roby, inadvertently shifts the conversation to more ludicrous interpretations of the topic. In the end, it is revealed that they had been discussing a river in Brazil rather than an intellectual concept, highlighting the disconnect between their aspirations to be seen as cultured and the reality of their shallow discussions. Ultimately, Wharton criticizes the pretensions of social clubs and the emptiness of their so-called intellectual pursuits. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 72.7 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Humorous stories Authors -- Fiction Women -- Societies and clubs -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Humour Category: American Literature 89312 2025-08-10T06:11:47.699485 text/html 90290 2021-02-24T22:37:18 text/html 94874 2025-08-10T06:11:51.788429 application/epub+zip 93687 2025-08-10T06:11:49.355467 application/epub+zip 93686 2025-08-10T06:11:48.298469 application/epub+zip 160434 2025-08-10T06:11:53.528464 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 150671 2025-08-10T06:11:51.049446 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 133913 2022-09-11T08:29:13.021364 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 73647 2025-08-10T06:11:47.409464 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 73607 2016-10-03T13:21:44 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 71880 2016-07-28T11:38:18 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 71871 2016-07-28T11:38:18 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 22949 2025-08-10T06:11:53.657424 application/rdf+xml 9467 2025-08-10T06:11:48.785449 image/jpeg 2607 2025-08-10T06:11:48.541452 image/jpeg 27704 2016-10-03T13:25:22 application/octet-stream application/zip 27476 2016-07-28T11:38:34 application/octet-stream application/zip 29652 2021-02-24T22:37:20 application/octet-stream application/zip 27458 2016-07-28T11:38:34 application/octet-stream application/zip 91981 2025-08-10T06:11:47.710457 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog fr.wikipedia en.wikipedia