Edith Wharton (1862–1937) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer, best known for her works that explored the lives and morals of New York’s upper-class society during the Gilded Age. Born Edith Newbold Jones in New York City, she came from a wealthy and socially prominent family—her father’s lineage is believed to have inspired the phrase “keeping up with the Joneses”.
Wharton was a voracious reader from a young age and spent much of her childhood traveling through Europe, where she became fluent in French, German, and Italian. She published her first book, Verses, at 16, but it wasn’t until after her marriage to Edward Wharton in 1885 that she began writing seriously. Her literary style was influenced by Henry James, whom she knew personally.
Her breakthrough novel, The House of Mirth (1905), examined the rigid social expectations of New York’s elite, while Ethan Frome (1911) depicted the struggles of rural life. In 1921, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Age of Innocence, a novel that critiques the constraints of high society. Other notable works include The Custom of the Country (1913) and Summer (1917).
Beyond literature, Wharton was a talented interior designer and co-authored The Decoration of Houses (1897), which influenced modern home aesthetics. She was also deeply involved in humanitarian efforts during World War I, earning France’s Legion of Honor. She spent her later years in France, where she passed away in 1937.
