A rare work of nonfiction from Edith Wharton, <I>The Writing of Fiction</I> contains brilliant advice on writing from the first woman ever to win a Pulitzer Prize -- for her first novel <I>The Age of Innocence.</I> <P> In <I>The Writing of Fiction,</I> Wharton provides general comments on the roots of modern fiction, the various approaches to writing a piece of fiction, and the development of form and style. She also devotes entire chapters to the telling of a short story, the construction of a novel, and the importance of character and situation in the novel. <P> Not only a valuable treatise on the art of writing, <I>The Writing of Fiction</I> also allows readers to experience the inimitable but seldom heard voice of one of America's most important and beloved writers, and includes a final chapter on the pros and cons of Marcel Proust.