The House of Mirth
Edith Wharton Audio Book

Lily Bart moves in the shallow, new-moneyed class of New York society in which men make the money and women spend it. There amongst the glib diversions of the newly rich, she seeks a husband who can not only maintain and further her in this charmed existence, but can also provide unstinting admiration.

Scandal, however, intervenes. Accused of being the mistress of a wealthy married man, Lily must withdraw from society. She becomes a milliner, but finds life outside the hothouse unendurable.

When it was published, ‘The House of Mirth' shocked many by its candour, but it established Edith Wharton as a supreme novelist.


Edith Wharton (1862–1937) was an American novelist. ‘The House of Mirth' was published in 1905 and became her first popular success. She was appointed Chevalier of the Legion of Honour for her relief work during World War One, and with ‘The Age of Innocence' she became the first woman to earn a Pulitzer Prize. In addition to her many novels, she also produced eleven collections of short stories.