Classics · MelancholicLily Bart, a 29-year-old socialite with no fortune, seeks a wealthy husband to secure her future
The House of Mirth
A well-born woman without money searches for a husband in Gilded Age New York
Lily Bart is a 29-year-old socialite with no fortune, and she seeks a wealthy husband to secure her future. The story is set in New York City's high society in the 1890s. Her circle includes the lawyer Lawrence Selden, the financier Simon Rosedale, the bachelor Percy Gryce and the socialite Bertha Dorset. As debts, gossip and lost prospects mount, she begins a steady fall from high society. Scribner's Magazine serialized it from January to November 1905, and Charles Scribner's Sons published the book on October 14, 1905.
More about this book
Who
Lily Bart, Lawrence Selden, Simon Rosedale, Bertha Dorset, Percy Gryce and Lily's aunt Julia Peniston.
World
New York City's high society in the 1890s, during the Gilded Age.
What makes it different
Charles Scribner reported the most rapid sale of any book Scribner had published, and sales reached 140,000 copies by the end of December 1905. The title comes from Ecclesiastes 7:4.
Feel
Elegant and sad.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- The House of MirthWikipedia