The House of Mirth

✍ Scribed by Edith Wharton

• Book ID: 100298927
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics
• Year: 1905
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 263 KB
• Edition: Barnes & Noble Classics Series (2004)
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9781411432314

✦ Synopsis

Paperback, 348 pages

Published 1905

Barnes & Noble Classics Series (2004)

Modern Library 100 Best Novels (1900-1998)

Introduction by: Jeffrey Meyers

One of America’s finest novels of manners, The House of Mirth is a beautifully written and ultimately tragic account of the human capacity for cruelty.

First published in 1905, The House of Mirth shocked the New York society it so deftly chronicles, portraying the moral, social and economic restraints on a woman who dared to claim the privileges of marriage without assuming the responsibilities.

Lily Bart, beautiful, witty and sophisticated, is accepted by 'old money' and courted by the growing tribe of nouveaux riches. But as she nears thirty, her foothold becomes precarious; a poor girl with expensive tastes, she needs a husband to preserve her social standing, and to maintain her in the luxury she has come to expect. Whilst many have sought her, something - fastidiousness or integrity- prevents her from making a 'suitable' match.

Setting New York City, New York