Why is Edith Wharton important?

Wharton broke through these strictures to become one of America’s greatest writers. Author of The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, and The House of Mirth, she wrote over 40 books in 40 years, including authoritative works on architecture, gardens, interior design, and travel.

Is The Age of Innocence hard to read?

The Age of Innocenceis an easy story to follow, written in the kind of urbane, intelligent, humorous prose you would expect for the voice-over of a Jane Austen movie. But, like the voice-over to a Jane Austen movie, the prose can be a tad stuffy, and the content can be bewilderingly outdated.

Who married Newland?

His marriage to Fanny Beaufort, sanctioned by Janey’s gift of their mother’s jewelry, is a symbol of the new society’s ability to find a place for those ostracized in the old order. No one remembers the Beaufort scandal anymore, and what was not acceptable in Newland’s close and structured world is now permissible.

Is Edith Wharton a feminist?

her work her feminist concerns, which thus tend to be cumulative and implicit rather than explicit. indifferent society women find no complete victory. upper-class background, Wharton never actively campaigned for social or legal reforms that might enhance the authority of women.

Which Edith Wharton book should I read?

The best place to start with Edith Wharton is with her fourth (and second most famous) novel, The House of Mirth. The House of Mirth charts the falling fortunes of Lilly Bart, a bright, vivacious upper-class woman raised to be an ornament to society — and more specifically, to a wealthy man.

Is the Age of Innocence worth reading?

The Age of Innocence is a brutal and elegiac novel with an ending that hurts, but pleasantly so, like a pressed bruise. For all of its emotional heft, when it was first published The Age of Innocence was marketed as a nostalgic, escapist story.

Who was Edith Wharton’s lover?

William Morton Fullerton
William Morton Fullerton (18 September 1865 – 26 August 1952) was an American print journalist, author and foreign correspondent for The Times. Today he is best known for having a mid-life affair with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edith Wharton.