The Life of Edith Wharton

In her early years, Wharton contributed to magazines like Scribner’s and Harper’s, co-authored a book on designing homes, The Decoration of Houses (1897), with architect and designer Ogden Codman Jr, published collections of stories, and released her first novel (Pallardy). Her second novel, The House of Mirth (1905) was very successful, jump-starting her career and bringing her to popularity (Schriber 258). She had been featured in magazines and publications before, but The House of Mirth brought her to the attention of new readers (Pallardy).

Wharton’s book on interior design and architecture is but one example of Wharton’s many interests. She did not write from inexperience. While writing the book, she helped her co-author with the design and building of a real home, and she later put her knowledge to work in the creation of her own home in New York City (Pallardy). The Mount, situated on 113 acres of land, was her beloved home for about ten years (“Edith Wharton”). She sold The Mount shortly before her divorce in 1913 (Schriber 260), when she made her move to Paris.

By this point in her life, Wharton was highly successful and extremely busy. She wrote many novels during this period, such as Ethan Frome (1911), and became the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Age of Innocence (1920). She frequently contributed short stories and poems to magazines and even delved into journalism during World War I (Pallardy). While others fled Paris to the countryside, she volunteered for humanitarian organizations to help raise money to help refugees, children, and the sick (“Edith Wharton”). Her early encounters with the “limited educational opportunities allowed to girls and young women of her era” frustrated her, and during her war efforts, she made sure to help unemployed women find jobs (Chafee). Despite early discouragement from her family, she had become an award winning novelist and was a role model for women writers.

The final years of Wharton’s life were more laid-back. She settled in St.Brice-sous-Foret after the war. In 1920, she also bought a convent in southern France, and spent her time moving between the two, “writing, traveling, and gardening”. At the age of 75, Wharton died from a stroke in her home (“Edith Wharton”), but her legacy lives on today. Her novels are still popular, and her work during World War I helped hundreds of people. Her journalistic writing during the war allowed others to see what was happening on the front lines and were helpful in her humanitarian efforts (Chafee). By pushing forward and following her dreams, she helped pave a path for women writers.

Sources:

“Edith Wharton: A Biography.” The Mount, 2019.

Cassidy, Benjamin. “Meet Edith Wharton, the poet.” The Berkshire Eagle, 2019.

Pallardy, Richard. “Edith Wharton: American Writer.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019.

Schriber, Mary Suzanne. “Edith Wharton and Travel Writing as Self-Discovery.” American Literature, vol. 59, no. 2, May 1987.