The House of Mirth -- Edith Wharton

<b>A bestseller when it was published nearly a century ago, this literary classic established Edith Wharton as one of the most important American writers in the twentieth century--now with a new introduction from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan. </b> <p/>Wharton's first literary success--a devastatingly accurate portrait of New York's aristocracy at the turn of the century--is considered by many to be her most important novel, and Lily Bart, her most unforgettable character. Impoverished but well-born, the beautiful and beguiling Lily realizes a secure future depends on her acquiring a wealthy husband. But with her romantic indiscretion, gambling debts, and a maelstrom of social disasters, Lily's ill-fated attempt to rise to the heights of society ultimately leads to her downfall. <p/>From the conventionality of old New York to the forced society of the French Riviera, Wharton weaves a brilliantly satiric yet sensitive exploration of manners and morality. <i>The House of Mirth </i>reveals Wharton's unparalleled gifts as a storyteller and her clear-eyed observations of the savagery beneath the well-bred surface of high society.<br><br><b>Author:</b> Edith Wharton<br><b>Publisher:</b> Scribner Book Company<br><b>Published:</b> 01/14/2020<br><b>Pages:</b> 464<br><b>Binding Type:</b> Paperback<br><b>Weight:</b> 0.65lbs<br><b>Size:</b> 7.80h x 5.20w x 1.10d<br><b>ISBN:</b> 9781982141790<br><p><b>About the Author</b><br>Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was an American novelis