Knowra Edith Wharton Edith Wharton Edith Wharton (1862–1937) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and designer whose fiction examined class, gender, and social constraint, especially among the wealthy.
The House of Mirth : Edith Wharton’s 1905 novel follows Lily Bart, a woman whose pursuit of security and status ends in social ruin. Its portrait of a woman trapped by New York society established Wharton’s critical reputation.
Literary realism : A literary mode that represents ordinary life, social conditions, and human behavior with close attention to plausible detail. Wharton used realistic detail to expose the pressures beneath elite manners.
Old New York : The established, wealthy social elite of New York City, especially families whose status predated the Gilded Age. Wharton drew on this milieu as both an insider and a critical observer.
Ogden Codman Jr. : An American architect and decorator who coauthored The Decoration of Houses with Edith Wharton. Their collaboration joined Wharton’s design interests to Codman’s architectural practice.
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction : An annual American literary award for distinguished fiction by an American author, established in 1917. Wharton became the first woman to win it, for The Age of Innocence, in 1921.
The Age of Innocence : Edith Wharton’s 1920 novel depicts love, duty, and social convention among New York’s upper class in the 1870s. This novel won Wharton the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1921.
Social class : A system of social ranking shaped by factors such as wealth, occupation, education, and inherited status. Inherited position and money determine which futures her characters can pursue.
Gilded Age : A period of rapid industrial growth, great fortunes, and stark inequality in the United States, usually dated from the 1870s to about 1900. The rise of new wealth sharpened the old social distinctions in Wharton’s fiction.
Theodore Roosevelt : The 26th president of the United States, who served from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt presented Wharton with the French Legion of Honor for her relief work during World War I.
French Legion of Honor : France’s highest order of merit, awarded for outstanding civil or military service. Wharton received the distinction for organizing relief work for refugees during World War I.
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