The House of Mirth reveals Edith Wharton as a powerful storyteller with a sharp eye toward the uncivilized ways of some of New York high society's most outwardly civilized citizens. First published in 1905, The House of Mirth shocked many with its candor and piercing insight into New York's fashionable society. Lily Bart, impoverished though well-born, lives in this shallow, new-moneyed class, in which men make the money and women spend it.
There amongst the glib diversions of the newly rich, Lily seeks a husband who can not only maintain her in this charmed existence, but can also provide unstinting admiration. Scandal, however, intervenes. Accused of being the mistress of a wealthy married man, Lily must withdraw from society. She becomes a milliner, but will she be able to survive the provincial life outside the hothouse?
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