The House of Mirth

Published in 1905 to enormous critical and financial success, the House of Mirth is the book that made Edith Wharton famous and marked the beginning of the author's mature phase of novel writing. This is a comedy of manners that turns into grim tragedy as Lily Bart, the novel's central character, lets numerous marriage opportunities slip between her fingers. Although marriage is her only means of escape from material worry, Lily's delicacy of taste and moral sensibilities render her unfit for the ornamental role prescribed for her by society. Her tumble down the social ladder ultimately leaves her shunned both by family and former friends.