The Oxford Companion to English Literature | Wharton, Edith
Wharton, Edith
, née
Newbold
Jones
(
1862
–
1937
), American novelist and short story writer, born in New York of a distinguished and wealthy New York family. She was educated privately at home and in Europe, where she travelled widely; she married
Edward
Robbins
Wharton
in
1885
and they settled in France in
1907
. The marriage was not happy; she suffered from nervous illnesses, and her husband's mental health declined in later years. They were divorced in
1913
. She devoted her considerable energy to a cosmopolitan social life, which included a close friendship with
H.
James
, and to a literary career, which began with the publication of poems and stories in Scribner's Magazine. Her first volume of short stories, The Greater Inclination (
1899
), was followed by a novella, The Touchstone (
1900
), but it was The House of Mirth (
1905
), the tragedy of failed social climber Lily Bart,...
[The entire page is 430 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
