Free shipping on all orders over $50
7-15 days international
12 people viewing this product right now!
30-day free returns
Secure checkout
77941138
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton is a classic novel set in New York City at the start of the 20th century. It chronicles the life of Lily Bart, a young woman of high society who finds herself in a precarious position between the traditional expectations of her class and the modern freedoms of a new age. Through complex characters and captivating events, The House of Mirth explores the social and moral consequences of ambition, as Lily must decide between love, money, and her own sense of self-worth. By painting a portrait of a stunning beauty slowly becoming undone as she fails to meet society's expectations and is relegated to a tragically lonely exitence on the margins of society, The House of Mirth serves as Wharton's most stinging attack was she saw as the "irresponsible, grasping and morally corrupt upper class" she knew so well. With its sharp dialogue and vivid descriptions, Edith Wharton's novel is a timeless classic with a sharp, modern edge.Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer. She was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Literature in 1921 for her novel, The Age of Innocence. Wharton’s works are known for their meticulous attention to detail and her penetrating insight into the lives of the American upper class. Born into a prominent New York family, Wharton was educated at home and in Europe. She began writing in her teens and mostly kept her work to herself until she published her first collection of stories, The Greater Inclination, in 1899. Her first novel, The House of Mirth, was published in 1905 and met with huge success in both the US and abroad. Wharton went on to write over 40 novels and short stories, including Ethan Frome (1911), The Custom of the Country (1913), and Summer (1917). Wharton was a tireless advocate for social reform. She wrote extensively about the plight of women and the working class in America and founded the first school for underprivileged children in New York. Wharton was also a passionate traveler and designer. She wrote travel books about her travels throughout Europe and the Middle East, and was known for her elegant and luxurious interiors. Wharton’s works remain popular to this day and she is widely considered to be one of the greatest American writers of her time. Her works are still widely read, discussed, and studied in academic circles.
