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Edith Wharton’s Followers (4,557)

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 ...more

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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 whi 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: 3.8 · 522,993 ratings · 37,486 reviews · 1,401 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Age of Innocence 3.97 avg rating — 177,890 ratings — published 1920 — 3738 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 3.44 avg rating — 128,832 ratings — published 1911 — 422 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 3.97 avg rating — 99,126 ratings — published 1905 — 2879 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 3.67 avg rating — 15,906 ratings — published 1917 — 940 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 4.06 avg rating — 14,359 ratings — published 1913 — 857 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 3.67 avg rating — 15,170 ratings — published 1911 — 15 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 3.87 avg rating — 7,321 ratings — published 1938 — 4 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 3.90 avg rating — 5,074 ratings — published 1934 — 76 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 3.86 avg rating — 4,204 ratings — published 1922 — 6 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
	Old New York 4.04 avg rating — 2,240 ratings — published 1924 — 100 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)
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3.94 avg rating — 4,828 ratings

Vance Weston (2 books)
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3.84 avg rating — 401 ratings

Margaret Atwood has written more than 50 books during her literary career, including the modern classics The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake,...

Polls

Our April Strong Women read is Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World. As our fiction accompaniment option, let's read a novel by one of those "bad girls".

This poll closes at 11:59pm Eastern time on Sunday, April 2.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

2 votes, 100.0%

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

0 votes, 0.0%

Delta of Venus by Anaïs Nin

0 votes, 0.0%

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

0 votes, 0.0%

2 total votes

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Edith Wharton’s Followers (4,557)

Edith Wharton

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