House of Mirth and the Age of Innocence
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Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton was born in 1862 to a prominent and wealthy New York family. In 1885 she married Boston socialite 'Teddy' Wharton but the marriage was unhappy and they divorced in 1913. The couple travelled frequently to Europe and settled in France, where Wharton stayed until her death in 1937. Her first major novel was The House of Mirth (1905); many short stories, travel books, memoirs and novels followed, including Ethan Frome (1911) and The Reef (1912). She was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature with The Age of Innocence (1920) and she was thrice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. She was also decorated for her humanitarian work during the First World War.
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Reviews for House of Mirth and the Age of Innocence
1,547 ratings105 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting from a historical perspective and at moments still contains relevant observations about the shallow and materialistic lives of wealthy Americans. The social manners and high sentimentality might be dull for most contemporary readers, but it still retains value.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I don't love anything that smells too much like Victorian literature. This was pretty close, but I enjoyed the inversion of the tale- how the young woman falls from social prominence, overplays her hand, and then chooses to live with the consequences. It's not tragedy in the classical sense, but Lily is a tragic character. Her combination of determination and lack of self-awareness keep the engine of the novel running.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My first Wharton, and I can see why so many people love her. The writing is excellent, the social commentary is strong, and the female characters especially in this book feel authentic. I found myself equal parts annoyed by and enamored of Lily. Her movements within ‘society’ as an independent woman, and her fall from that society, make for a compelling story. Lily Bart will stay with me for a long time. So many feels.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finally read an Edith Wharton. Excellent book, great writing. Enjoyed the insight into life in 1905.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of Mirth is my first Edith Wharton book so I really knew nothing about her writing style. I spent most of the book completely torn. Do I feel bad for Miss Lily Bart? She gets herself into many of the same situations girls are plagued with today. Lily was raised in high society. She was taught no different. Then I wonder if she should just grow up, wake up, and see what's happening around her. She does see it. She knows what it takes to truly be happy. Ingrained habits must be hard to break.
Overall, this story led me to ponder on women's roles in society. There is more diversity now; more education, however the "games" between man and woman will never change. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5As much as I hate to admit it (I'm usually a huge Wharton fan) my reaction to House of Mirth was very tepid. The writing was brilliant, and the examination of Boston society fascinating -- both as one would expect -- but Lily Bart herself just left me cold. To me she came across as a good bit of a simpleton, which makes me feel I've entirely missed the point, which in turn makes me grumpy. Hence only 3 stars.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5the ending was horrible
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really enjoyed reading Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth." It's definitely a typical Wharton novel... but I've liked all that I've read by her, so this novel was certainly up my alley.The novel is the story of Lily Bart, a poor girl who is pretty enough to hang around with the rich New York society people. She is dependent on the kindness of her friends, who are fickle, and really has to find a husband with money to keep up her expensive tastes, but can't seem to commit to spending her life with a bore who has a fat wallet.Wharton does a great job painting Bart's character as a woman who struggles with what she wants and how to get that in the narrow corridor society has laid for her. I really enjoyed how the story progressed and peeling back the layers of Bart's character.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is my favorite of Edith Wharton's novels. The story of Lily Bart's fall from the heights of society to its depths is a cautionary tale of the price of pride and hubris in early twentieth century New York.Lily Bart is a beautiful young woman - well not so young as she is 28 when the novel opens - of excellent birth, but limited financial means. She lives with her aunt and expects to inherit her wealth when she dies, which is a good thing, since her own income only allows her to live in a modest way. Lily, however, seems to think that her beauty will carry her to endless riches and she lords it over her less well situated cousin and also to enter into a questionable financial arrangement with the husband of her best friend.Lily's problem is that, while she is bad by the standards of the day, she is not bad enough to truly profit from the opportunities that appear before her. Her main fault is that she loves her life of luxury and is seemingly not able to make the smallest sacrifice to assure that her means of life will continue. Instead of attending to her aunt and living the life of a proper young woman as should, Lily embarks on a European adventure with dubious companions that will be her undoing. When her aunt dies, she finds she has been disinherited and faces a truly dismal life.Still, although she has the means to save herself and to, in all likelihood restore herself to her former position, she cannot bring herself to her former position, she cannot bring herself to do so, thus bringing her life to an untimely end.This is, perhaps, Wharton's most tragic novel and the modern reader's heart cries out at every twist and turn of the plot for Lily Bart.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Depressing.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Story cloaked in too many words, describing a very superficial woman and lifestyle.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm not quite sure where to start with this review other than to say I thought this book was full of many moments of utter brilliance. Firstly, there was the setting of the New York upper class at the beginning of the 20th century. I've read lots of society type books from this era, but I think this is the first (for me) that's been set in the US. Out went the Downton Abbey setting of the many English books I've read from the period, and in it's place was wonderful descriptions of the early inhabitants of those fabulous brownstone buildings of streets like 5th Avenue.Secondly, Lily was the most fabulous heroine I've come across in a while. At first she seemed an unlikeable character - shallow, vain, and with aspirations focused solely on material gain and sustaining her ability to keep up with her social set. However, as the book unfolds she develops into the most complex character full of self-contradictions. On the one hand she wants to seek out a marriage into money, yet when opportunity knocks she can't take that final step. She equates marriage with the huge compromise of dull, pompous husbands, and interprets love as a fanciful dream which can never lead to happiness as it's destined to be attached to an insufficient income.She's the least well off of her set, needing to stay in favour with her group more than any of the others, yet she lets them wildly misconstrue a number of incidents which ultimately lead to her downfall. She has ample opportunity on a number of occasions to set the record straight or to quiet rumours with some well-aimed counter mudslinging, yet she chooses instead to hold her head high in hushed dignity, protecting people who ultimately expose the false veneer of her material dreams for what they really are.Ultimately Lily is a person of rare depth and character within her set, and cleverly Wharton reveals that to us whilst sadly holding Lily back for much of the book from discovering her true self. Her dialogue is razor sharp in places, and at times the book was very humorous.4.5 stars - a very clever, unique read from the period.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lily Bart descends through high society, society's fringes, the generally wealthy and finally the working class in a journey that ruins her reputation but leaves her morals intact.When I was younger I loved this book for the scope of its tragedy. In every chapter a new opportunity is presented to Lily that she chooses to pass by. She makes her choices based on her own moral compass, and, Job-like, is punished for each choice. The beginning of the book, and the loss of Percy Gryce, is smoothed over with well-bred manners. By the end of the book Lily is raw and direct and the price she is paying totally clear.What I don't remember is how much you end up hating Lawrence Selden by the end of the book. Lily has his number when she admonishes him at Bellomont for decrying society while enjoying its company. He's too bright to be an obtuse Ashley to Lily's Scarlet, and so he ends up being just plain impotent — realizing too late on every occasion that he's done exactly the wrong thing.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of my favourite books - improves on every reading.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I usually really like Wharton, but I found this to be too damn depressing. How dare this beautiful woman with her tiny income show independence of spirit and flout convention. She must be brought to her knees by societal convention and destroyed. Eff that crap.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wharton is an excellent writer and storyteller. House of Mirth is her 1st literary success. Lily Bart is an accurate portrayal of NY’s aristocracy at the turn of the century. Bart is her most unforgettable character. She is beautiful but finds herself broke from gambling debts and needs to find a wealthy husband. This ultimately leads to her tragic downfall. I found this book most interesting and look forward to reading Age of Innocence next.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I read that Wharton was originally a 'Jones', and the "keeping up with the Jones's" referred to her parents. I do hope this is true and, if so, explains how she completely understands the upperclass, moneyed society with its freedoms and rules dissected in The House of Mirth. The main character has been brought up to be a charming, beautiful adornment to this society, but lacks the funds to manoeuvre through it without compromise.In Lily, Wharton skilfully creates a central character who is believably selfish and foolish, but that you are drawn in to finding out what happens to her. Seeing her desire for luxury and her relish in being the belle-of the-ball, I was surprised at the choices she made, but I realise that is why I am still thinking about this beautifully written novel, and hence the five stars.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is the Edith Wharton novel I read in college. I didn't really care for it at the time, but now that I'm older, I'm willing to give Wharton another try.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5After seeing the movie and wanting more detail, I got this for free on my Kindle. It focused on the life of a young unmarried woman in the early 1900s and her search for a well-provided-for life. She started out with some money but eventually ended up broke, missing a few opportuniites to marry into wealth because of her erratic behavior, as well as not recognizing who really loved her.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No mirth in this sad story of the decline of a beautiful woman in 1890's New York. No grins at all. Not one smile. Edith Wharton, I surmise, would have easily made the cut as an Oprah selection. Lily Bart is stunningly beautiful but poor, and ladies of her day had few choices about changing their life situation. Marriage, a good marriage to a rich and interesting man, eludes Lily, and the years are hard on her. Gossip begins to follow her, though none of it is warranted, and every day brings more and more misery. It won't surprise you to learn that the story ends in Lily's death.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How the choice to disregard a loving admirer who fails to have fortune, turns the protagonist eventually into the thing she had rejected. Profound. Excellent writing.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I've finally finished Edith Wharton's classic novel of manners but unfortunately the tragic fate of Lily Bart didn't stir my emotions. There are some points in the novel where you think she may be coming to her senses but over all her character just frustrated me. I did, however, really enjoy the Terence Davies directed adaptation and Gillian Anderson adds much more subtlety and depth to the character of Miss Bart than the text ever did.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In my opinion, no one can write about the hypocrisy of high society better than Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth is a tragic tale of Lilly Bart, a woman living in New York high society circles through the graces of her Aunt who allows her to live in her mansion.Strong willed, foolish, yet very likable, the book is so well written that even though you know Lilly is headed down the wrong path in navigating through the unspoken strict rules of the pretentious rich, one cannot help but root for her.Trying to avoid marrying for the sake of money, Lilly's ideas are way ahead of the time period of 1903. She has some choices of men who wish to offer her a life of luxury, but alas her true love is her intellectual soul mate who quite understands Lilly, but is a lawyer and not wealthy enough to totally fit into the high society. Alas, she accumulates some gambling debts and naively asks the help of a man who promises to invest some of her small amount of money. All too soon she learns that he betrayed her and she owes $10,000.When her strict, judgmental aunt learns of her gambling debts, she turns her back on Lilly and refuses to help.All to soon the rumors swirl and Lilly is suddenly, swiftly on the outside of the rich who now look down upon and scorn her.When her Aunt dies, she inherits $10,000 -- the exact amount of debt she owes. With no skills, She is forced to try to learn to support herself unsuccessfully. Her redemptive option would be to betray a friend who was very cruel to her. She could indeed expose the ethics and morals of this very snarky, sharky friend, but in the end, even if it meant she might be back in the good graces of the high society, she cannot follow through.This is an excellently written book with a strong plot, wonderfully developed characters and historically accurate. It is one of those rare books that leave you thinking about it long after the last page is read.Five Stars.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The heroine's conflicted persona was something I identified with easily, though the circumstances were unfamiliar territory. While Lily Bart was well-developed, I found that throughout the book, I wanted to know more about her star-crossed lover, Lawrence. And, as much as I wanted Lily to find her meaning of life and end up with him, I was not disappointed in the ending. Not everything ends happily.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lily Bart is beautiful and lives with her rich aunt. She is nearly thirty and has been trying to make an advantageous marriage, without being able to bring herself to do it, for the last ten years. We see her throw over Percy Gryce, who was about to propose, because he is wrong and because she prefers the company of Lawrence Selden. Selden loves her, but is not rich enough for her purposes. Lily is caught up in marital dispute between two friend and rumours begin to circulate about her. Her aunt dies and leaves her only a small legacy. She begins to lose her place in society and eventually is forced to try to earn a living as a milliner.The whole book reads like a car crash and is relentless and oppressive. I found myself taking breaks out of a need to escape the unfolding disaster, although it is not without humour: Lily "had been bored all afternoon by Percy Gryce ... but... must submit to more boredom...and all on the bare chance that he might ultimately decide to do her the honour of boring her for life." Wharton cleverly causes us to sympathize with Lily, but at the same time we judge her for her sense of entitlement, the way she puts status and wealth above love, even the way she cannot bring herself to make the compromise she determines to make and just marry some one. Her moral conscience is important, and I was cheering for some of her later decisions (although I would have borrowed from Rosedale to repay Trenor and set up a shop).Gerty is a helpful character to show us a life style choice Lily could have made and Selden demonstrates a choice not to take society too seriously. None of Liliy's other "friends" are truly her friends at all, except for Carry Fisher and, in a sense, Simon Rosedale. Wharton's attitude to this Jewish character is of another era, but he has redeeming qualities and again offers Lily choices which she fails to take.Very interesting, with lots to think about, but I'm glad it's over and I need to go and read something cheerful.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was another book from my 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list, & I can see WHY it became such a sensation in it's day, & why it endures as a classic tale today. Lily is an example of the upper echelon of the class system in early New York. She was trained to do absolutely nothing but be decorative & was brought up to do nothing but marry well. Lily has a few character flaws, which prevent her from doing the thing she was brought up to do, especially since she was raised by a relatively stingy rich aunt after her parents died when she was young. As her life reaches 29, then 30, she falls out of favor with the high society crowd, & is invariably pushed down a rung in the ladder each time till she hits rock bottom after her aunt's death & she was disinherited in favor of another cousin. Lily is at heart not a bad person, she just makes bad choices. If she had married Selden when she had the opportunity, her life would have been richer in SO many more ways than simply financially.....sad ending, but not altogether unexpected..
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quite brilliant. I always love Edith Wharton's heroines and Lily was no exception. It's a great character and social study of a woman who has expensive tastes and can't break into the world she feels she belongs to because of lack of money. It's made clear throughout (and more towards the end with the appearance of an unlikely ally) that she probably would have been happier had she settled for a middle-class life. I don't know if I agree with that seeing as I don't think it would have suited her personality and cultured leanings and she would have ended up frustrated, not to mention that having lived in relative luxury growing up she can't bear not to be comfortable. I can see that opinions on Lily could be vastly different but I for one understood every move and mistake she made, she's drawn very carefully and the continuity in this regard is excellent.
It's a crushing book, beautifully written with sharp characterization and I somehow identified with Lily, to the point when I can say this has made me look at my own life in a different way. It can be life-changing. I never expected this novel to resonate so much with me but that's what great literature is all about. Perhaps it's even the one book I needed right now. Five stars for sure. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I *heart* this...even though it makes my heart hurt. Wow. Portrayal of a young woman, Lily Bart, navigating high society New York circa 1903 without the benefit of a supportive family to guide her or the financial means to support the lifestyle. When you are raised only to be decoration and you realize your own uselessness and inability to establish means to independent living, what do you do when you've waived all the options that have come your way?
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fabulous novel. Feminist-lit before it was possible for a woman to really write fem-lit. Lily Bart is such an intricate, tragic character. You can't help from being completely swept away by her.
Read it. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Moving and profoundly sad. Such a beautiful story written by a master of the English language. I cannot believe I waited so long to read this wonderful book.