A bestseller when it was first published in 1928, Edith Wharton&#39;s &quot;The Children&quot; is a comic, bittersweet novel about the misadventures of a bachelor and a band of precocious children.&nbsp;<br /><br />The seven Wheater children, stepbrothers and stepsisters grown weary of being shuttled from parent to parent &quot;like bundles,&quot; are eager for their parents&#39; latest reconciliation to last. A chance meeting between the children and the solitary forty-six-year-old Martin Boyne leads to a series of unforgettable encounters. Among the colourful cast of characters are the Wheater adults, who play out their own comedy of marital errors; the flamboyant Marchioness of Wrench; and the vivacious fifteen-year-old Judith Wheater, who captures Martin&#39;s heart.&nbsp;<br /><br />With deft humour and touching drama, Wharton portrays a world of intrigues and infidelities, skewering the manners and mores of Americans abroad.