Edith Wharton

Born

in New York City, NY, The United States

January 24, 1862

Died

August 11, 1937

Genre

Fiction

Influences

Henry James, Jane Austen

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Edith Newbold Jones was born into such wealth and privilege that her family inspired the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses." The youngest of three children, Edith spent her early years touring Europe with her parents and, upon the family's return to the United States, enjoyed a privileged childhood in New York and Newport, Rhode Island. Edith's creativity and talent soon became obvious: By the age of eighteen she had written a novella, (as well as witty reviews of it) and published poetry in the Atlantic Monthly.

After a failed engagement, Edith married a wealthy sportsman, Edward Wharton. Despite similar backgrounds and a shared taste for travel, the marriage was not a success. Many of Wharton's novels chronicle unhappy marriages, in whic Edith Newbold Jones was born into such wealth and privilege that her family inspired the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses." The youngest of three children, Edith spent her early years touring Europe with her parents and, upon the family's return to the United States, enjoyed a privileged childhood in New York and Newport, Rhode Island. Edith's creativity and talent soon became obvious: By the age of eighteen she had written a novella, (as well as witty reviews of it) and published poetry in the Atlantic Monthly.

After a failed engagement, Edith married a wealthy sportsman, Edward Wharton. Despite similar backgrounds and a shared taste for travel, the marriage was not a success. Many of Wharton's novels chronicle unhappy marriages, in which the demands of love and vocation often conflict with the expectations of society. Wharton's first major novel, The House of Mirth, published in 1905, enjoyed considerable literary success. Ethan Frome appeared six years later, solidifying Wharton's reputation as an important novelist. Often in the company of her close friend, Henry James, Wharton mingled with some of the most famous writers and artists of the day, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, André Gide, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, and Jack London.

In 1913 Edith divorced Edward. She lived mostly in France for the remainder of her life. When World War I broke out, she organized hostels for refugees, worked as a fund-raiser, and wrote for American publications from battlefield frontlines. She was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her courage and distinguished work.

The Age of Innocence, a novel about New York in the 1870s, earned Wharton the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1921 -- the first time the award had been bestowed upon a woman. Wharton traveled throughout Europe to encourage young authors. She also continued to write, lying in her bed every morning, as she had always done, dropping each newly penned page on the floor to be collected and arranged when she was finished. Wharton suffered a stroke and died on August 11, 1937. She is buried in the American Cemetery in Versailles, France.
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Combine Editions
Edith Wharton’s books

Average rating: 3.77 · 378,511 ratings · 21,190 reviews · 856 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, Maureen Howard (Introduction) 3.94 avg rating — 127,118 ratings — published 1920 — 1249 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ethan Frome 3.38 avg rating — 98,046 ratings — published 1911 — 341 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Nina Bawden (Introduction) 3.95 avg rating — 74,292 ratings — published 1905 — 893 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ethan Frome and Other Short Fiction by Edith Wharton, Mary Gordon (Introduction) 3.66 avg rating — 14,881 ratings — published 1911 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton, Linda Wagner-Martin (Annotations) 4.02 avg rating — 8,702 ratings — published 1913 — 294 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Summer 3.66 avg rating — 9,382 ratings — published 1917 — 327 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton, Marion Mainwaring 3.89 avg rating — 5,184 ratings — published 1938 — 41 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton, Laszlo Kubinyi (Illustrator) 3.89 avg rating — 2,991 ratings — published 1937 — 34 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton, Regina Barreca (Introduction) 3.84 avg rating — 2,673 ratings — published 1922 — 195 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Roman Fever and Other Stories 4.09 avg rating — 1,745 ratings — published 1934 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Edith Wharton…

Series by Edith Wharton

Old New York (4 books)
by

Edith Wharton

3.95 avg rating — 2,226 ratings

Quotes by Edith Wharton

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that receives it.”
― Edith Wharton

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“Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.”
― Edith Wharton, Artemis to Actaeon and Other Verses

tags: carpe-diem, day, daytime, window

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“My little old dog
a heart-beat
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― Edith Wharton

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Polls

September BoTM ~ Classics Theme ~ 1st Poll!

Top 5 selections will move onto the 2nd round!

The Grapes of Wrath

by John Steinbeck

9 votes, 12.7%

Ethan Frome

by Edith Wharton

7 votes, 9.9%

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

6 votes, 8.5%

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

by Milan Kundera

6 votes, 8.5%

Far from the Madding Crowd

by Thomas Hardy

5 votes, 7.0%

Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

5 votes, 7.0%

The Catcher in the Rye

by J.D. Salinger

5 votes, 7.0%

Lolita

by Vladimir Nabokov

4 votes, 5.6%

Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury

4 votes, 5.6%

The Master and Margarita

by Mikhail Bulgakov

4 votes, 5.6%

My Ántonia

by Willa Cather

3 votes, 4.2%

Franny and Zooey

by J.D. Salinger

2 votes, 2.8%

West with the Night

by Beryl Markham

2 votes, 2.8%

Persuasion

by Jane Austen

2 votes, 2.8%

Flowers for Algernon

by Daniel Keyes

2 votes, 2.8%

A Study in Scarlet

by Arthur Conan Doyle

2 votes, 2.8%

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

by Shirley Jackson

1 vote, 1.4%

The Magician's Nephew

by C.S. Lewis

1 vote, 1.4%

The Good Earth

by Pearl S. Buck

1 vote, 1.4%

The Painted Veil

by W. Somerset Maugham

0 votes, 0.0%

71 total votes

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Edith Wharton

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Combine Editions
Edith Wharton’s books