The House of Mirth is a novel of manners set in the milieu of the New York upper class in the 1890’s, described as a “hot-house of traditions and conventions”. The title is taken from Ecclesiastes 7:4: “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” It is the story of an unmarried woman, Lily Bart, who faces the pressure marry well to maintain her social status despite her feelings for a less wealthy suitor. She is deceived and betrayed by seeming friends, who gossip and spread rumors that cause her to fall from grace. 

Written while Edith Wharton lived at The Mount, her home in Lenox, Massachusetts, and published in 1905, The House of Mirth sold 140,000 copies between October and the end of December. The favorable review in the New York Times described it as "a novel of remarkable power". It ranks 69th on the Modern Library list of the Top 100 Works of Fiction. It has been adapted for the stage and film numerous times, most recently in 2000 by director Terence Davies.

Play sample: 

Download a PDF datasheet