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A black comedy of manners about vast wealth and a woman who can define herself only through the perceptions of others. The beautiful Lily Bart lives among the nouveaux riches of New York City - people whose millions were made in railroads, shipping, land speculation and banking... Read Full Overview

This Norton Critical Edition includes:

- The 1905 book edition of the novel, complete with A. B. Wenzell's eight original illustrations.
- A preface and explanatory footnotes by Elizabeth Ammons.
- An abundant selection of contextual material, including... Read Full Overview

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... Read Full Overview

Since its publication in 1905 The House of Mirth has commanded attention for the sharpness of Wharton's observations and the power of her style. A lucid, disturbing analysis of the stifling limitations imposed upon women of her generation, Wharton's tale of Lily Bart's search... Read Full Overview

In The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton paints a vivid portrait of Lily Bart, a beautiful socialite navigating the treacherous waters of New York's high society. As Lily struggles with love, wealth, and her own ambitions, Wharton critiques the relentless pressures and moral decay... Read Full Overview

In The House of Mirth , Edith Wharton depicts the glittering salons of Gilded Age New York with precision and wit, even as she movingly portrays the obstacles that impeded women's choices at the turn of the century. The beautiful, much-desired Lily Bart has been raised to be... Read Full Overview

A bestseller when it was originally published nearly a century ago, Wharton's first literary success was set amid the previously unexplored territory of fashionable, turn-of-the-century New York society, an area with which she was intimately familiar. The tragic love story reveals... Read Full Overview

The House of Mirth (1905), by Edith Wharton, is the story of Lily Bart, a well-born, but penniless woman of the high society of New York City, who was raised and educated to become wife to a rich man, a hothouse flower for conspicuous consumption. As an unmarried woman with gambling... Read Full Overview

Selden paused in surprise. In the afternoon rush of the Grand Central Station his eyes had been refreshed by the sight of Miss Lily Bart. It was a Monday in early September, and he was returning to his work from a hurried dip into the country; but what was Miss Bart doing in... Read Full Overview

Set among the glittering salons of Gilded Age New York, Edith Wharton's most popular novel is a moving indictment of a society whose soul-crushing limitations destroy a woman too spirited to be contained by them. The beautiful, much-desired Lily Bart has been raised to be one... Read Full Overview

The text has been introduced and thoroughly annotated by the editor for student readers. Backgrounds and Contexts includes selections from Edith Wharton's letters; articles from the period about etiquette, vocations for women, factory life, and Working Girls' Clubs; excerpts... Read Full Overview

Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton used her inside knowledge of upper class New York life in the early part of the 20th century as the basis for her 1905 novel, "The House of Mirth". The novel is the classic and tragic portrayal of Lily Bart, an intelligent... Read Full Overview

An immensely popular bestseller upon its publication in 1905, The House of Mirth was Edith Wharton's first great novel. Set among the elegant brownstones of New York City and opulent country houses like gracious Bellomont on the Hudson, the novel creates a satiric portrayal of... Read Full Overview

Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautifully bound pocket-sized gift editions of much loved classic titles. Bound in real cloth, printed on high quality paper, and featuring ribbon markers and gilt edges, Macmillan Collector's... Read Full Overview