The House of Mirth

The House of Mirth is a 1905 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It tells the story of Lily Bart, a well-born but impoverished woman belonging to New York City’s high society around the end of the 19th century. The novel traces Lily’s slow two-year social descent from privilege to a tragically lonely existence on the margins of society. First serialized in Scribner’s Magazine in 1905, it was published in book form later that year to commercial success. It has been adapted for radio, stage, and screen.