THE HOUSE OF MIRTH by Edith Wharton, 1905, 1st Ed, 2nd State (HC/VG) VINTAGE

by Edith Wharton

$100 · Offered by eBay

First edition

THE HOUSE OF MIRTH by Edith Wharton is listed among the top Best Books of 1905! "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. In this morally and aesthetically bankrupt world, Lily, age twenty-nine, seeks a husband who can satisfy her cravings for endless admiration and all the trappings of wealth. But her quest comes to a scandalous end when she is accused of being the mistress of a wealthy man. Exiled from her familiar world of artificial conventions, Lily finds life impossible." Edith Wharton emerged as one of America’s most insightful novelists, deftly exposing the tensions between societal expectation and personal desire through her vivid portrayals of upper-class life. Drawing from her deep familiarity with New York’s privileged “aristocracy,” she offered readers a keenly observed and piercingly honest vision of Gilded Age society.

  • Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons
  • Year: 1905
  • Condition: Very Good

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