The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Introduction and Notes by Janet Beer, Manchester Metropolitan University. The House of Mirth tells the story of Lily Bart, aged 29, beautiful, impoverished and in need of a rich husband to safeguard her place in the social elite, and to support her expensive habits - her clothes, her charities and her gambling. Unwilling to marry without both love and money, Lily becomes vulnerable to the kind of gossip and slander which attach to a girl who has been on the marriage market for too long. Wharton charts the course of Lily's life, providing, along the way, a wider picture of a society in transition, a rapidly changing New York where the old certainties of manners, morals and family have disappeared and the individual has become an expendable commodity. The House of Mirth was published in October 1905 to widespread critical acclaim. It became an instant bestseller and is regarded today as one of Edith Wharton’s most accomplished and compelling social satires.

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was born into a distinguished New York family. She not only lived as part of smart society, but it was one of her principal subjects. She was a prolific writer of novels, short stories and articles. She also produced a volume of poems and an adaptation for the theatre of her novel, The House of Mirth. Ethan Frome, which is considered her greatest tragic story, is, by contrast, about simple New England people.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781840224191
ISBN 10	1840224193
Title	The House of Mirth
Author	Edith Wharton
Series	Wordsworth Classics
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Wordsworth Editions Ltd
Year published	2002-02-05
Number of pages	320
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable